Leaning on You
by Shades of Atramentous
Summary: Joey Atramentous (along with her charming owl, Flam) finds herself back at Hogwarts for her 7th year with her best friends: the Marauders and Lily Evans. Romance blossoms in the group as 'love and betrayal' becomes the prominent theme of the story. = ]
1. Seeing You Again

Okay, this is my second time around with this story... about three years after i started it. I've obviously grown up quite a bit since then, so I'm going through and fixing all the parts that make me cringe from either style or content. For those of you who've already read the story, don't worry, i'm not changing the plot :)

"Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so."  
-David Grayson

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Joanne Atramentous went sprinting through the King's Cross train station. Where the hell were they? Remus had told her, specifically, that he would be there at seven o'clock a.m., on the spot. Oh, who was she kidding? Remus was intelligent and all, but that sandy-blond, blue eyed boy was terrible at being on time. Thinking back now, how could she have taken him to be serious, considering his reputation for always being late.

Hmmm. The word 'serious' triggered a thought in her highly astute brain. Come to think of it, where was Sirius, as well? Oh, hell! Sirius couldn't be taken seriously either! Joey giggled to herself at the obvious irony, causing the short-eared owl on her shoulder gave a 'hoot' at the now unstable perch it was sitting on. As she leaned over and cradled the gorgeous brown and white speckled bird against her temple, a sudden voice broke her train of thought:

"Joey! We've missed you so much over the summer!" As Joey whipped around to meet the voices she recognized as James Potter's and Remus Lupin's, her long, wispy auburn hair swept across her shoulders and down the middle of her back. A full smile extended over her sun-kissed, lightly freckled face as she jumped into the arms of two of her best friends.

"Oh, James, Remus! I've missed you guys, too!" she gave them both huge wet kisses on the sides of their faces, causing both of their noses to wrinkle. James had certainly grown over the summer! The once scrawny, vertically challenged gentleman was now supporting all of Joey's 5 foot, 9 inch frame in a tight bear hug. "Have you been lifting weights?" she inquired, giving his arm a playful squeeze.

"Maybe a little." He smiled shyly, his blue eyes shining in the glare of the brightly lit train station. He certainly looked like it! James' body was now much more in proportion. The muscles in his arms visibly flexed as he hugged his good friend. His dark black, and extremely unkempt hair began to tickle her face. Giggling as he let her go, she then rapped her delicate arms around her much mellower friend, Remus.

Deciding that it would be better for them to begin making their way towards platform nine and three quarters, the three picked up there trunks and headed down the hall. It wasn't long before a beautiful, curvy figured red-head was visible down the passage, accompanied by an over weight boy with very light brown hair. Joey shrieked with excitement as she and the red headed Lily Evans began to playfully bound towards each other.

The impact at which they smashed into each other caused them to fall over, laughing wildly. Without Joanne realizing it, her elegant bird leaped off her shoulder and soared over to a distant figure coming up in the distance. She got to her feet, exchanging jovial kisses with Lily and the chubby boy, Peter Pettigrew. Still laughing, Joey suddenly realized that her beloved feathered friend was no longer on her shoulder.

"Oh no! Did you guys see where Flam flew off to?" Joey asked her friends, trying to suppress the panicked tone in her voice. "He never flies off like that. He won't even sit on anyone's shoulder but mine and-"

"Perhaps mine?" a deep voice, resonating from behind her, finished the thought for her. Without even turning around, she knew who that voice belonged to. Squealing with delight, she flipped around in a flash and suddenly had Sirius Black in a hug. Laughing he said, "Yup…you should have known that when Phlegm left your shoulder, I had to have been near by!" Joey pulled out of the hug punched him hard in the ribs, as the short-eared owl nipped him sharply on the ear. "Ouch!" he bellowed.

"Well," Joey lectured, "you should have known that Flam doesn't _appreciate_ people refering him as Phlegm!" She tried to sound annoyed, but the affectionate gaze that was pouring out of Sirius' silvery, grey eyes was too much for her to handle. She began giggling as her oration continued, "if you're going to call him Phlegm, you might as well just refer to him as 'loogie,' since the name implies the same!"

Laughing, Sirius picked her back up into a tight squeeze and swung her around. Joey didn't mind this at all. She had always appreciated Sirius' warm, amorous hugs the most. 'He always smells so good,' Joey thought to herself as she took a deep whiff from the base of his neck. Sirius could feel the air brush past his skin as Joey breathed it in. He smiled at this familiar sensation. Joey always liked to smell him, and he secretly loved it as well. It was the only reason he made an effort to smell nice every time he knew she'd be around. "It's so good to see you again. . . all of you again!" Sirius proclaimed as the entire group collapsed on each other, hugs flying everywhere.

The bunch of friends, which was now complete with six, began making it's way down the train station, through the platform barrier, and onto(or rather into) the nine and three quarters platform.

"Ahhhh. . . it's certainly good to be going home!" Sirius' declared as he hoisted Joey up onto the train with one arm. He certainly was muscular. . .even more muscular than any of the other boys in their gang. Joey flashed a smile at him that said 'thanks,' and he couldn't help noticing how her blue and jade eyes radiated with beauty. Turning a little pink, he glanced down at the train floor, causing a few strands of his silky, midnight-black hair to fall into his eyes. Joey playfully batted it out of his face, and poking him antagonizingly in his hard stomach, whipped around and went sprinting to the back of the train. Beaming, a knavish smile played across his face as he tore after her, leaving the rest of their friends behind to simply shake their smiling heads and follow. The train's engine rumbled loudly and it began to move onwards toward Hogwarts.

please review! love, SJ

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	2. Seeing Him Again

"For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul."  
-_Judy Garland_

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Joey flung herself into their usual cabin, and slammed the door shut with a thud. Breathing hard, she slowly peaked out of the door. She didn't see him. Curiosity getting the best of her, she leaned her head slowly out of the cabin. Suddenly, Sirius sprung out of the adjacent cabin. She screamed with excitement as he plowed his way into the cabin, coarsely grabbing her by her shoulders, slamming her down onto one of the cushioned seats, and sitting on top of her. By now the rest of the group began making their way into the cabin, rolling their eyes at the bizarre sight of seeing a well guy as large as Sirius sitting on top of Joey.

Clearly not appreciative of this, Flam began hooting wildly as Sirius' muscular shoulder began squishing him against the cabin wall. "Oh Loogie, I was just having a little fun with Joey!" Sirius said innocently to the angry bird.

"Sirius. . ." Joey growled in response to the name calling of the bird.

"Oh, alright Joey," he said, getting off her lap, kissing her lightly on the top of the head and squeezing his butt between her and Remus, who had casually plopped down next to her. "Why would you name a bird Flam, anyways?" he said a little indignantly. Joey looked over at him and gave him one of those 'I've told you a thousand times' looks.

"Because," Joey began, sounding a little annoyed, "the scientific name for the type of bird that Flam happens to be, is _Accio flammeus_." James and Sirius looked at each other and began grinning, clearly trying to hold in their laughter. As this continued, both of them began turning a dark shade of crimson. James was the first crack. The laughter shot out of his mouth, forcing against all the muscles in his body that were trying to keep it in. In effect, the noise that errupted sounded more like a distressed elephant.

Everyone in the cabin, including Joey and Lily, was so startled by James weird laugh that they couldn't help but laugh as well. Flam went fierce with anger due to this, and, refusing to take his anger out on his beloved Joey, resorted to pecking Sirius, sharply on the top of the head. "Oww! Stop it. . . Ouch!" Sirius was pleading with the bird, trying so hard to stop laughing. "Come on, now! Joey! Help me!"

Still laughing, she reached down into her pocket, and pulled out an owl treat. As she easily coaxed the bird down off of Sirius' head, the rest of her friends eventually got a hold of themselves. "I still don't understand it," she said, shaking her head. "What the hell is so funny about the scientific name, _Accio flammeus_?"

Trying hard to keep a straight face, Sirius explained, "Well, since 'accio' happens to be the term we use in magic to summon an object to us, and 'flammeus,' like I explained earlier, sounds like 'phlegm,' the name _Accio Flammeus_ makes it sound like you're summoning a giant wad of-" And that was all he got out. James interrupted him be making really disgusting hacking sounds like he was coughing up a spit wad.

This was apparently too much for the boys to handle, because James, Remus, Peter, and Sirius started howling with laughter again. Only this time, they were practically rattling the windows, they were laughing so hard.

"Childish prats!" Joey mumbled as Lily and her strolled out of the cabin, Flam brushing gently against her face as he landed back onto her welcoming shoulder. "My poor baby," she purred as she cuddled her face against the soft bird's breast.

"Let's go wander around and say hi to people," Lily suggested as the girls stood outside the cabin door. "and if we're lucky, maybe we'll come across Amos. . ." Lily tried to sound nonchalant.

Amos Diggory was considered the hottest guy in their grade. Well, he was actually considered the hottest guy in the school. He had medium brown hair and soft brown eyes. Not only was he extremely muscular and fit, but he was also the keeper for Hufflepuff's quidditch team. All of these attributes, and the girls were practically throwing themselves at him. This is why Joey was considered the luckiest girl in the school. . . Amos Diggory was her boyfriend.

As the girls wandered around, aimlessly talking to their fellow classmates, catching up on recent summer events, they soon decided that they needed some sustenance. Their stomachs were growling like mad by the time they had found the food trolley. As the girls' mouths watered while they waited in the long line to get some food, Joey felt a long, warm arm rap around her shoulder. She recognized the familiar scent of the person that was holding her.

"Finally stop laughing, Black?" Joey's snide comment had a very annoyed ring to it.

Sirius leaned over and rested his head on her shoulder, his pleading eyes looking up into hers, begging for forgiveness. Joey could barely resist those gorgeous silvery eyes, and she tried in vain to hold back a smile. Quickly realizing that he was winning, Sirius picked his head off her shoulder, kissed her lightly on the top of her head (like he always did) and offered to buy both ladies lunch at the trolley. On the way back to their cabin, they finished eating the sandwiches that Sirius had bought them.

On the way back to their cabin, the three were surprised to bump into somebody as he was coming out his cabin door. It was Amos Diggory. He glanced over at the three, almost challengingly at Sirius, but smiled widely when he focused on Joey.

"Well, look at this shining princess!" he said in an overly sweet voice that didn't seem to suit him. "Aren't we looking lovely today!" Joey smiled awkwardly. Amos always spoke to her like he was putting on a show for everyone else. "Look what I've got for such a pretty lady! I know it's your favorite!" Amos announced as he held out a yellow daffodil. Sirius rolled his eyes as Diggory then moved in to kiss Joey. He wasn't subtle about it at all. Expecting a little peck on the lips, Joey was extremely startled when Amos slipped his tongue into her mouth and made quite a public display in front of Lily and Sirius.

"Oh, brother!" Sirius mumbled, loud enough for just Lily to hear.

He just stood there with his mouth gaping open in disgust as the kiss went on. When Amos finally pulled away from Joey, she seemed rather flustered as he headed off towards the food trolley without another word. The only problem was that Sirius was standing right in the way of him, glaring at him with his raging cold, grey eyes. As Amos looked into Sirius' face, expecting him to just move out of the way for him, he noticed the look Sirius was giving him and shoved past him, very forcefully through his left shoulder.

When Diggory had finally moved on to the next train car, looking around for the trolley, Sirius was still glaring in the direction that he had left.

"Joey, you know I don't trust that. . . that-" he suddenly looked too furious to finish the sentence.

"Careful, Sirius," Lily warned. Sirius growled impatiently at both the girls and then turned to continue walking back to the cabin. As the girls caught into step with him, Sirius finished the thought he had for Joey. "You know, I just think you deserve better," he said mindfully. "I don't want that prat to end up hurting you."

"Oh, Sirius," she said, sounding slightly annoyed that he was so overprotective, "I don't understand why you two hate each other so much." She paused for a moment. They had arrived back outside the cabin. "And you _don't_ have to worry so much." She leaned in and gave him a soft hug as Lily walked back into the cabin.

Sirius leaned in and kissed her on the top of the head, like he had done so many times before. He was pouting, Joey knew. "Oh, and i know your secret."

"What?" Joey asked, curiously at the weird statement he just made.

"-that your favorite flower is a daisy." Joey's mouth fell open slightly and her brows furrowed together. She knew he was right. So what if Amos was a little confused about what she liked. She'd only been dating him for... how long? She had trouble keeping track since Amos hated to celebrate anniversaries. But that was besides the point! At least he gave her a little gift! She wasn't going to complain if it was a daffodil and not a daisy!

Even still, there was something about Sirius' comment that stung a little.

Joey was about to respond when James and Lily came walking out of the cabin together, both wearing their head-girl/boy robes. Joey forced a smile for them, and James, who playfully winked at her, recommended that she and Sirius get their robes on quickly because they were almost at Hogwarts.

please review! much love, SJ


	3. Arrival at Hogwarts!

"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies."  
--Aristotle

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Getting back into the cabin, Joey noticed that everyone seemed to have been keeping themselves busy. They had already all changed into their robes, and were now trying to pass the last remaining time on the Hogwarts Express. Peter was munching delightfully on his chocolate frogs he had bought from the food trolley, getting it all over his robes without even noticing. Remus was, as usual, reading some book on the history of magic, completely unaware of everyone else in the cabin. Sirius was busying himself by tickling Flam who was now sitting on his shoulder.

"Traitor. . ." Joey mumbled loud enough so that Sirius and Flam could hear. The bird then responded with a very rueful 'hoot,' and went flying over to Joey's welcoming shoulder. Glancing over at Sirius with an uncertain smile on her face, she noticed that a smile was beginning to creep up his face, too. Then they both laughed together, and Joey took it as a welcome for her to come squeeze between him and Remus.

"You _will_ eventuallyput your robes on, won't you?" questioned Remus who didn't bother to look up from his book.

"Why, no, My dear friend Moony," Joey responded sarcastically. "I was actually planning on stripping down to nothing and going back to my seventh year of Hogwarts nude. Do you have a problem with that?"

Hearing this, Peter suddenly began choking on his chocolate frog. This was clearly too much even for Remus to handle, because the straight face that he was trying ever so carefully to keep, was now being broken up by the uncontrollable laughter. Peter continued to cough on the same piece of chocolate, and, in effect, caused Joey and Sirius to bust up laughing as well. Joey got up, walked over to her trunk, pulled out a bottle of water for Peter, and began changing into her robes. As she plopped back down onto the seat between Remus and Sirius, Sirius started up a new conversation.

"Well, I certainly hope that Lily and James are having fun so far, as head boy and girl." Sirius remarked. Flam decided to crawl over onto Sirius' shoulder when he said this.

Remus looked over at him and answered his thoughts. "Yes, well it will probably do them some good, having to spend a little more time together."

"Why would you say that?" Joey looked over at him quizzically.

"Because," Lupin continued. "James and Lily have suddenly seemed a little distant recently. In fact, it seems like whenever they are together they just spend the time bickering!" Joey looked back on it, and come to think of it, they had been arguing a lot towards the end of last year. She got a little angry with herself for not realizing. Sirius began chuckling lightly.

"Why is that funny?" Joey snapped. Sirius looked up into her face and continued his soft laughing.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sirius began answering her question with one of his own. "Lily and James are just meant for each other. They are clearly trying to hide their feelings for each other, from each other!"

"What?" Joey didn't quite believe it.

"Actually," Remus started up again. "It makes sense if you think about it. Lily and James have been best friends for, like, ever. It probably would come as a bit of a shock to them that they began falling for each other."

"But it just doesn't make any sense," Joey said shaking her head, disbelieving. "I mean, I can totally understand them having feelings for each other, but why won't they come out and admit it?" Joey said frustratedly. "Who would do that?"

"Oh, I know other people who have trouble with the same exact problem…" Remus smiled as he trailed off with his speech and looked back down at his book.

"What? Who are you talking abou-" Joey didn't finish the sentence as Remus looked back up from his book. By the look that Remus was now giving her with his cool blue eyes staring straight into her brain, she suddenly got chills down her spine. She knew exactly what he was implying. Glancing over at Sirius, she had wondered if he had heard. Sirius was stroking Flam, who was now cuddling into his lap. His face looked down at the bird, listlessly. Yes, of course Sirius had heard. But the feeling in the pit of his stomach was telling him that he should act like he hadn't paid any attention.

Before anyone could say anything else, the train came to a sudden halt as they were pulled into the Hogsmead station. All of the train's excited passengers began gathering their trunks.

Stepping out of the train into the crisp, cool air of the Hogsmead night, the four friends soon caught up with Lily and James. At the moment, they happened to be ushering the first years over to the lake, where they would ceremoniously cross to join their new school. When they turned around, they looked excitedly at their friends who had been waiting for them.

"Oh, Good!" Lily thought aloud. The friends smiled brightly at the head boy and girl. "You guys can join us in the Head boy/girls carriage for the ride over to Hogwarts!"

The six friends squeezed into the carriage, with Joey squeezed between Remus and Sirius on one side, and Lily squeezed between James and Peter on the other. Soon, they were on their way back to their welcoming school for their final year.

"Oh, my," Lily said with a yawn. "I am just so worn out!" Her eyes looked droopy and her head slowly leaned its way onto James' shoulder. James reacted by resting his head on the top of hers and closing his eyes. Sirius and Joey exchanged knowing looks. They glanced over at Remus, who already was shaking lightly from his inaudible laughing. A huge smile crept over all three of their faces.

Before they knew it, the carriage stopped in front of the huge school, and they all recklessly fumbled out of it. Lily and James squeezed their way to the front of the mass of students, guided them into the great hall, and proceeded into the dining hall. Joey could feel Sirius guiding her along through the crowd to the Gryffindor area. The students resumed their positions at the usual tables, and waited for the sorting to begin. Everyone sat restlessly through the sorting, as they had done so many years before, and then as Dumbledore stood up, they suddenly all became silent.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "Now normally, I would just allow you to begin eating right away, but there are a few announcements I must make first." The students glanced around at each other, impatiently. "Now I will dissuade you, as I do every year, not to enter the forbidden forest or stay out of the castle past your curfew. . . for these actions will result in serious punishment. On to a lighter note, I'm sure the sixth and seventh years are wondering why they were asked to pack their dress robes with them this year! Well, I have a bit of a surprise for you! This Halloween, we are going to throw a masquerade ball!"

The sixth and seventh years in the audience screamed with delight. Dumbledore did his best to silence them, and continued, "And don't worry," Dumbledore paused for a moment, a twinkle gleaming in his eye, "everyone will have a date." The noise broke out in the audience again, as everyone laughed. "I have a rather interesting plan to accomplish that, and I'm sure you all will be rather enthusiastic to participate!" Glancing down at the younger students, Dumbledore added in, "and of course, the younger students will be welcome to have their own little parties in their common rooms! And now, don't let me hold you back from the feast any longer, as I welcome you to your supper!"

And with that everyone began talking excitedly and all at once. The anticipation for the night that was coming up in a month was so strong. What did Dumbledore have in mind? Who was everyone going to be matched up with? And how? Dumbledore refused to let out anymore information on the subject, so everyone was simply left to guess. They were just going to have to wait and see what he eventually had planned for them!

Reviews are appreciated! love, SJ


	4. What was i going to say?

_"Love is a friendship set to music."  
_-E. Joseph Cossman

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That night, all the Gryffindors slowly trudged up the stairs to their tower. There was still excitement in the air about being back, but people were so full from the lovely meal, that their speech was practically slurred and their eyes drooped sleepily.

"Feels good to be home. . . I suppose, " mumbled Lily as she practically drifted off to sleep on James' arm.

"Lily, you look about ready to pass out!" said Joey with a laugh.

"mhmm . . ." she said with a smile as she cuddled up to James a bit more.

"Well, it doesn't surprise me," Joey answered. "You've been up and about for a couple days straight. . . bustling around, getting everything ready for school. You're going to have to find some way to better handle the pressure!"

Sirius smiled playfully over at the group. "Well then I guess James, here, is just going to have to help her cope with the stress, then?" He laughed at his own joke while the others didn't dare act like he was implying anything. They all entered the common room and headed up to their dormitories, Lily still wrapped around James.

"Do you want help walking up to your bed-er-. . . dorm?" asked James with a concerned tone. Joey giggled to herself at the thought.

"No, I think i'll be alright. . ." Lily said, trying to hide a smirk.

"Yes, yes. . .of course you will. . ." James said quickly. "Well, goodnight then."

James heard Sirius heave a deep sigh somewhere behind him and could practically picture him rolling his eyes. The group said their goodnights and split up to their dormitories.

Everyone slept well that night and woke up late that Sunday. Joey was the second to last girl in her dormitory to wake up, and when she opened her eyes, she realized that she and Lily were the only girls left in their room. The other beds were already made, and it was clear that their owners were down in the dining hall eating a nice breakfast.

Smiling to herself at the thought of being back at school with all of her friends, Joey jumped out of bed, hopped into the bathroom and took a nice long shower. When she was satisfactorily clean, she wrapped a snuggly towel around her and opened up the door, releasing a large amount of steam into the dorm room. Lily was already up, dressed, and making both of the girls' beds.

"Ohg, g'ank gue, gLils!" Joey tried to speak as she began brushing her teeth.

"No problem!" Lily said cheerfully as she walked into the bathroom and began brushing her teeth right next to Joey.

Just as the girls had finished with their teeth and began doing their hair, the other two girls from their dorm busted the door open, and flooded into the room, screaming at the top of their lungs. "EEEEEK! JOANNE!"

"What?" she sounded extremely worried. "what happened?"

"You won't believe what we just heard!" one of the girls screamed.

"Wait! Lemmie guess!" said Lily as she pulled the curlers out of her hair. She wanted to have a little fun with the overly excited girls. "Judging by your extremely high pitched shrieking, you must have seen Amos Diggory walking around in his boxers!"

"Oh, shut up, Lil!" one of the girls, teased. "We've just heard a rumor that Amos Diggory wants to 'talk' to you. . .privately! And we're pretty sure it's about something 'really' important!" The girl's voice trailed off into an incomprehensible squeal.

"Huh?" Joey felt like she wasn't getting the drift. Both girls faces suddenly looked stuck between the expressions of bewilderment and shock.

"What do you mean, 'huh'?" one of the girls asked, practically scoffing at her.

"I mean, so what? What's so special about this and why is he announcing it to the whole school?" Once again, Amos succeeded in putting on a show for the entire school.

"Well," continued one of the excited girls, "we think that he let it slip to Cassie Meriwether of Hufflepuff, who happened to have told Claira Florashum of Ravenclaw, who happened to have told us just a few minutes ago!"

"What? Let what slip?"

"Three little words, babe!"

This was too much for Lily. She started getting completely giddy as well, and then started joining in on the gossip, much to Joey's dismay. "You mean to say, that Amos Diggory is going to tell Joey that he loves her?" Now it was hard for Joey to even understand Lily! Her voice was taking on a pitch similar to that of a dog whistle.

All of the sudden, however, Joey began blocking out everything that the three other girls were carrying on about. Was Amos really going to tell her that he loved her? She had a sudden wave of anxiety and felt a little light headed. Why was everyone making such a big deal about this? She had been dating Amos for almost. . . how long?. . . she always had trouble remembering because he refused to recognize any anniversaries. Joey heaved a sigh. She really felt like she needed Flam to comfort her right now. But, wait a minute! Where was Flam? Come to think of it, she didn't remember bringing him up with her last night. . .he must still be with Sirius!

Without another word to the other girls, Joey raced down the girl's dormitory steps into the common room, and then up to the boys' dormitory. Finding her friends' room, she knocked lightly and crossed her fingers that they were still in there. Pressing her ear to the door, she listened carefully to what was going on inside. . . silence. Were they still asleep? She knocked again, harder. Suddenly, she heard the bathroom door inside the room getting wrenched open and could hear muffled cursing as someone walked across the dorm room floor.

"James, is that you? Did you forget your damn key again!" It was Sirius' voice. He opened the door and his mouth dropped open when he saw Joey standing there. Joey's mouth dropped open too, at what she saw.

Sirius Black was standing right in front of her, soaking wet, with nothing but a towel around his waist! "Omigod! I. . . am so. . .sorry. . .i was just. . .i was just-" Joey stammered as she tried to look directly into Sirius' face. . .not down his perfectly proportioned, ripped body, that just so happened to be glistening with moisture from the, obviously, hot shower he just got out of.

"You were just what?" Sirius was trying hard not to laugh from the weird way Joey was acting. Yes, he was not completely ignorant to the effect he had on girls; but he'd never seen Joey act like this towards him before! Granted, Joey rarely ever saw him dressed (or undressed) like this, but he knew she'd definitely seen some bare chests before. Amos Diggory was notorious for ripping off his shirt every chance he got, and that cocky bastard made sure to find a lot of opportunities. . .

"I was just. . ." Joey tried again as she forcefully stared into Sirius' face. A few strands of hair dangled in front of his eyes, wet and dripping frequently. Joey allowed her to eyes slip as they focused onto a single particle of water that suspended from one of the strands. Her gaze followed the droplet as it descended in slow motion through the air. It landed with an inaudible thud as it hit his smooth, naked chest. Joey didn't bother to avert her eyes as the bead then proceeded to trickle down his sleek torso. Joey felt her bottom jaw drop ever so slightly. She bit her bottom lip to keep herself from swooning right there in the doorstep. Sirius patiently waited for her to finish her sentence as she checked him out. Except, she never did. Joey had gone into some weird trance as she just stood there, staring at him, while he was half naked.

"Oh, just come in!" Sirius said, grabbing her arm and yanking her in the room. He sat her on his bed and turned around, about to enter back into the bathroom. "It is cold standing around in a towel, you know!"

"Oh," Joey said, a bit dazed. And without realizing what she was saying she finished, "I hadn't noticed. . ." Sirius paused for a moment and looked back at her with his brows furrowed a bit. He was shaking his head a bit in confusion. She sure was acting odd today.

Noticing his abruptness, Joey quickly cleared her throat and tried to get a hold of herself. "Oh! I meant to ask you if you'd seen Flam anywhere!" Joey recovered quickly. Now she could feel her ears go hot as she turned her face away from his gaze and began fiddling with the bed hangings. Sirius relaxed a bit and turned around the corner, back into the bathroom.

"Yeah, he's in here. He must have followed me up last night, because I found him sleeping next to me this morning. In fact, he jumped right into the shower with me, too!" Joey bit her lip slightly. A mental image of Sirius in the shower popped into her head. She smiled in spite of herself.

Suddenly, Flam went flying around the corner, his wings in a ruffle. It was quite obvious that they had been soaked thoroughly and that Sirius had tried to dry them with a towel. Joey giggled to herself at the adorable sight of her bird. Glancing up, she noticed a towel fly out of the bathroom door, onto a pile of dirty laundry that was sitting near her. Sirius must have been standing on the other side, quite towel-less, Joey thought. She quickly averted her attention to her bird.

A few seconds later, Sirius emerged from around the corner and came walking over towards his trunk which was sitting right next to Joey. All he was wearing was a pair of blue and green pin-striped boxers. He leaned into his trunk and pulled out a pair of pants. Sitting down on his bed, right next to Joey, he began pulling them on. Realizing what he was doing, Joey stared, wide-eyed, directly at her bird, who had been sitting on her lap. She laboriously kept this tunnel vision as she began to stoke Flam, quite roughly, due to the extremely high amount of adrenaline that was pumping through her body. Flam, however, did not like this at all, and gave a very loud 'hoot' in protest.

Glancing over at where the noise was coming from, Sirius leaned over Joey and stoked the bird softly on his back. "Careful, Joe! You don't want to break your bird!" he said teasingly. Joey didn't answer. She was trying so hard to steady her heart beat as Sirius shifted back into his own space, giving her a perfectly clear whiff of his fresh scent. She closed her eyes and breathed very deeply, trying to ignore Sirius' crisp, signature scent that wafted into her lungs. She jumped off the bed and walked quickly across the room.

"Shall we?" she asked brightly, gesturing to the door.

"Of coarse!" Sirius answered, yanking a shirt over his head. The two friends and bird walked out of the dorm together, through the common room, and out towards the great hall.

As they entered the delicious smelling dining hall, Joey sighed deeply, suddenly remembering the rumors about Amos wanting to 'talk' with her. She couldn't see what the big deal was! She didn't even know if she felt the same way as Amos did yet. She couldn't pretend to not be annoyed that he was treating their relationship like some drama in a theatre production! Why did it have to be everyone else's business?

please review! love you all, SJ


	5. Help

_"The best time to make friends is before you need them."  
_-Ethel Barrymore 

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Walking over to the Gryffindor table, Joey managed to glance over at the Hufflepuff table and make eye contact with Amos. He smiled broadly at her, waved her down as she took her seat, and then went strutting over to her. Joey had to keep herself from rolling her eyes to the ceiling when she saw Amos strut.

She smiled sweetly as he approached. Amos grinned around at all the people at her table, trying really hard to be friendly. Joey could hear a lot of the girls giggle as he did this. Then Amos bent down into a squatting position, and looked up into her pretty jade-blue eyes. They were shining as they caught the glare issuing from the dining hall's candles.

"You look absolutely breathtaking this morning," Amos practically whispered. "I hope I can have a little private chat with you after you eat?" Joey tried to smile without showing that she was feeling a little light-headed. Closing her eyes lightly, she barely nodded a response.

"Good!" Amos exclaimed as he stood back up, kissed her heavily on the cheek, and walked back over to his table.

Joey turned back around to her breakfast. Looking down at her food, she could feel the entire Gryffindor table looking over at her. Glancing up, she suddenly saw a bunch of retreating faces look back down at the plates in front of them.

"He is so sweet!" Lily said once Amos was out of ear-shot.

"What was that all about?" said Sirius, soundly rather annoyed.

"You haven't heard?" asked James with a surprised tone.

"Heard what?"

"That Amos is going to say he loves her!" Peter butted in, failing in his effort to whisper. Remus gave him a sharp elbow in the ribs as the chubby boy yelped in pain.

All traces of emotion left Sirius' face immediately. He whipped his head around to make eye contact with Joey, who had been sitting right next to him. He looked as though he was trying to read her thoughts, but Joey seemed to be resisting showing any emotion. She gave him a quick smile -one that she hoped looked believable- and turned back to her plate.

She looked down at the eggs on her plate. How could she be hungry, now? Being very aware of all the stares she was getting from her friends, she picked up a piece of toast and bit into it. Her mouth was too dry to even chew. This morning was turning out terribly, she thought to herself. Well. . .maybe not that terribly. . . after all, what's better than seeing Sirius Black in a towel? With this thought on her mind, she took a big sip of her pumpkin juice, and began eating her eggs a little easier.

Breakfast seemed to pass by all too quickly for Joey's liking. It meant that she was going to have to go and have a 'talk' with Amos. As she walked with her friends out of the dining hall, they all noticed him waiting by the stone staircase. Sadly, she watched Flam ditch her as he flew over onto Sirius' shoulder. She gave him a small smile and turned away. She walked over to Diggory and waved good bye to her gang as they continued towards the Gryffindor tower. Amos took her hand in his and led her down the hall towards the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room. They stopped just out side the entrance. The corridor seemed pretty empty, considering a lot of the students were outside on the nice Sunday afternoon.

"So, Joey," Amos began. "As you probably don't know, I've been planning on talking to you for a while now. . . I mean. . . talk to you about this." He looked down into her face that had so often before been rosy and full of life. But now, she was pale and looked rather ill. Joey didn't only look ill, but she felt ill too. Now she was trying to ignore the fact that she felt like passing out.

Amos continued on with his speech, "Joey. . . I-" his face looked so melodramatic, "love you." He practically spouted out. Joey felt sick. She did, however, know that she needed to give an answer the poor guy who was waiting, in anxiety, for her reaction.

"Amos. . ." she managed to breathe out. "I'm really flattered-" she was making a huge effort not to stutter as she said what she needed to say, "I'm not sure what to say. . ."

"Well, generally what someone tells you they love you, you're supposed to-" he protested.

"But how can you?" Joey interrupted. "You don't even know me that well. . ."she almost hesitated with saying that, but she knew it was important that he hear it.

"Joanne, how can you say that? No body knows you better than I do!"

"Amos, I just don't want to deal with this right now. . ."

"Deal with this!" Amos practically shouted. "Joey, look at who you're talking to! I just told you I love you! Every girl in this school would want to be in your position right now!"

Joey's face scrunched up with incredulity. Was he always this arrogant?

"Look, Amos. . . maybe we should just-"

"This is about Sirius, isn't it?"

"What!" Joey shouted in disbelief. That certainly came out of left field. "Amos, what are you talking about? I never-"

"He's turned you against me, Joey! Don't you see what's happening here!"

"Amos, just calm down. This is getting ridiculous."

"I don't want you hanging around that jerk anymore!"

"What! Amos! You can't dictate who I can and cannot talk to! Who the hell do you think you are?" Joey was now turning a shade of red darker than scarlet as she screamed at Diggory. She was feeling sicker than ever and her head was hurting so badly now, it felt like her brain was pounding against the side of her scull.

"I am your boyfriend, damn it! And I will tell you to do exactly what I feel like telling you to do! Now, I said I loved you and you don't even return the compliment!"

"Is that really just how you see it! AS A COMLIMENT? Telling someone you love them isn't supposed to be a compliment you idiot! It's a promise of enduring affection for a person that you really care about! You make it sound like something you come up with off the top of your head when you can't think of anything else to say!"

Amos looked furious. He grabbed Joey shoulders forcefully and abruptly shook her. "What is wrong with you!" he bellowed in her face.

Joey shoved his arms away and slapped him across the face. He looked even more enraged and held up his arm as if he were about to strike her. Joey turned away quickly and began crying in great sobs. She was so frightened!

Amos heard her loud weeping and lowered his arm immediately. He took a step closer to her and tried to wrap his arms around her. She twisted away from him and he tried again to clasp her shoulders.

"No!" she shouted at him with a great big gasp of air.

"Joey, please," he whispered. She was crying so hard she felt nauseous. Amos managed to turn her around so she was facing him, but her hands were still up covering her face. Neither of them heard the footsteps come around the corner.

Amos tried to hug her again but she swung out her arms in a pathetic attempt to bat him away. One very confused James Potter was standing about twenty yards away. When he first found the couple, he started to turn away, thinking that they wanted privacy. It was then that he noticed Joey's very red face and all of the tears that were falling down her cheek. Something wasn't right.

"Hey!" he shouted at Amos.

James' face looked very concerned as he quickly advanced towards Amos.

"Not _you_," Amos grumbled. "Just get out of here, Potter!" he shouted.

"What's going on over here?" James snapped, completely ignoring Amos' demand. He looked at Joey for an answer, but she didn't respond. She just looked so helpless standing there, James didn't know what to think.

"Just leave us alone," Amos grumbled as he turned back to Joey and made another effort to put an arm around her. She flinched away, which gave James the answer he was looking for.

"Hey, you get away from her!" he shouted and made a grab from the side of Amos' collar. Amos was a bit too quick for him and shoved his arm away. James then shoved Diggory back hard against the stone wall. He let out a loud grunt and punched James in the lower left jaw. Joey immediately snapped to her senses and started shouting at both boys to stop at once. She was, of course, ignored.

James lunged for Amos who tried to move out of the way at the same time. In effect, he slammed back into Joey, causing her to hit the back of her head against the stone wall and fall to the ground unconscious. Though Amos had succeeded in stepping out of the way of James, the other boy still managed to grab onto his cloak and they both went tumbling to the ground, fists flying everywhere.

The boys rolled around for a bit when James finally got the upper hand. He sat up on his knees and slammed Diggory's head against the adjacent, stone wall. The boy went limp, immediately unconscious.

James stood up at once and ran to where Joey was a heap on the floor. He picked her up with both arms and suddenly realized he was standing in an abandoned corridor with no one around to help him.

Please review! Love, SJ

* * *


	6. Stay With Me

Thank you all for reading this far :)

_"A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down."  
_- Arnold H. Glasgow

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James stood there, quite uncomfortable, as he tried to support the unconscious Joey. He glanced around, looking for help, only to realize that everyone was out enjoying their first Sunday at Hogwarts. Silently cursing to himself, he hoisted Joey up so he was supporting her back in one arm and legs with the other. Glancing back at Diggory, who was still sprawled across the floor in an insensible heap, he gave a shaky, sarcastic laugh. "Sorry about that, mate."

He then rushed off to the hospital wing, leaving Amos there alone, in the corridor. On his way towards the medical wing, James could see Sirius sitting down on the base of a statue, obviously lost in thought. He shouted out to him, and Sirius, confused at where the shouting was coming from, turned his head over towards his best friends. A look of panicked horror struck his face when he saw Joey.

"Oh my God! What the hell happened?" He roared as he came sprinting over to James' side.

"Sirius, I desperately need you to help me. I can take care of Joey and bring her to the hospital wing, but I left Amos over by th-" this was all James was able to say because a now livid Sirius was practically barking back at him.

"AMOS DID THIS TO HER!"

James shrugged carefully, trying hard to keep a good grip on Joey. "I'm really not sure what happened with them. I don't want to draw any false conclusions, but I think they got in a fight. Joey banged her head pretty bad against the stone wall. I have a feeling we won't find out what really happened until she comes to."

"James, just tell me. Where the hell is that fucking Diggory bastard!" Sirius was so angry he was practically steaming from the ears.

"He's just outside of the Hufflepuff common room. He's. . .uhhhh-" James suddenly looked a little uncomfortable. "He's kind of unconscious at the moment."

Sirius suddenly tore off towards the Hufflepuffs' corridor before James could say another word. James turned around and continued heading towards the hospital wing. 'Oh, dear, lord. . . please don't let Sirius do anything stupid. . .please!' When James arrived at the quite-empty hospital wing, he found Madam Pomphrey ("Merlin's Beard!" she cursed under her breath, when she saw Joey), who then helped him over to a bed.

"Oh my, Mr. Potter! What has happened to this poor girl?" Madam Pomphrey asked with a terribly distressed tone.

"She banged her head really badly, and I think she was crying a lot before hand. I don't think the combination did her much good. . ."

"Well, give me a few minutes to make sure she's breathing and that her heart rate's okay, then I'll look her over a bit more closely."

Joey woke up with a start, right around mid-night. She had no idea where she was, and it was pitch black all around her. She was lying in a fairly comfortable bed, and she soon realized that she was wearing her favorite pair of flannel pajamas. Her head was slightly propped up with pillows, and there were thick sheets and a warm blanket tucked around her. Her head was feeling a lot worse than it did the day before, and now she was having trouble thinking straight because she was so exhausted.

Wearily, she tried to sit up a little more, but she couldn't. The sheets were tucked so tightly around her, they wouldn't allow her to shift in the slightest. Trying to figure out what was keeping the sheets so taut, she realized that she was not the only thing on the bed. There was a rather large, furry object sitting on the bed next to her. It was keeping her nice and warm, and she suddenly realized that it was another body. Nervously, she reached over and put her hand on what she assumed was the creature head. She felt the sleeping creature's head nuzzle up to her hand, and a slow, steady breath was issuing from its nose. This was a very relaxing sensation, and she slowly drifted off back to sleep.

The second time she woke up, it was early that morning, around six thirty. Now, she could see the hospital wing's draping all around her bed. The memories of the day before came rushing back into her brain, and she suddenly became very uneasy. She tried forcefully against the unyielding sheets to sit up. The jerking motion caused her to look back down at the dark, furry creature on her bed, as it woke up with a startle. Seeing that she was awake, the rather large black dog leapt up from where it was lying on the bed next to her, began whimpering softly from relief, and started licking her furiously all over her face.

"Sirius!" she tried to whisper, making an effort to pull away from the excited dog. "You're too big to be mauling me like this!" she tried to suppress the giggles that were emitting from deep inside her.

"Joey, dear! Are you awake?" It was Madam Pomphrey's voice coming from the other side of the hospital bed's draping. The dog pulled away and resumed sitting next to her, with a huge smile planted across its face. Madam Pomphrey came around the curtain and was standing next to Joey's bed. "Oh! Git! Git!" She said to the big dog as she forced him off the bed. "I'm sorry dear, I tried to get him to leave your side last night, but he just wouldn't budge! I didn't think I should persist when he started growling menacingly at me!"

"Oh, that's alright!" she said, smiling over at the large black dog. "Padfoot is one of my best friends!"

"Well that may be, my dear, but I had no idea whose dog that belongs to, and with the state you were in last night-. . . You had quite a nasty black out, you know!"

"Oh. . .I don't really remember much besides the splitting headache!"

"Well, I concluded that you passed out from a great amount of stress along with that nasty head bump! Something must have just completely mentally exhausted you for you to go out like a lamp post, like you did!" Madam Pomphrey explained, shaking her head. "Well, you should be okay now. Here's some medicine I readied for you in case your head was hurting much worse this morning." Joey reached for the cup that the nurse was holding out to her and drank its contents. Her headache cleared up almost immediately.

"Thank you, Madam Pomphrey. I think I'll be on my way now if I plan to make first period's class today." Joey said as she began getting out of the bed, barefoot.

"Well, dear, I sent Mr. Potter over to Dumbledore last night to give him the message that you were in the hospital wing. He actually excused you for the whole day from classes if you felt that you weren't able to attend."

"Oh, I think I'll be alright! Good bye. . . and thank you!" she said as she began walking towards the hospital exit. The big shaggy dog bounded after her and resumed walking by her side as she entered the corridor outside the hospital. Madam Pomphrey just silently watched the two figures walk out the door together.

Shaking her head slowly, she mumbled under her breath, "Children these days. . . you just can't hold them down for a second!"

Joey walked into the cold hallway of the Hogwarts castle, and stopped in her tracks. She looked down expectantly at the huge black dog standing next to her. The dog rolled its eyes and began transforming back into the very handsome, Sirius Black. He stood up and look down on the smiling Joey.

"You stayed with me the whole night?" she asked surprisingly.

"Of coarse I did!" Sirius said soundly a little aggrieved. Joey smiled at him and kept walking. Suddenly she shivered from the piercing cold of the stone ground that she was walking on barefoot. "What's wrong?" he asked with a concerned tone.

"Oh, nothing; my feet are just a little cold from this stone floor." She said as she continued walking. Suddenly she felt herself being swept her off her feet. She looked up at Sirius' face that was right next to hers and gave him half a smirk.

"Better?" he asked sounding a little pleased with himself. Joey just shook her head and pretended as though she wasn't enjoying being pressed against his warm, comfortable chest.

"Sirius?" she asked.

"Hmm?" he murmured back to her.

"What happened to Amos?"

"Well," Sirius began with a deep sigh, "James left him unconscious in the hallway, and told me to go deal him. He was easy enough to find. . ." he said as he chuckled lightly to himself, picturing the hufflepuff lying in an unconscious heap in the empty corridor. "I found him when he was just starting to wake up. He turned around and saw me, and we. . . 'negotiated' for a little while. He explained to me what happened and told me he felt really bad about it."

"But what did he 'say' happened?"

"Well. . .it was kind of hard to completely understand him between his sobs (Sirius paused and began chuckling again), but I think I got the gist of it. . . You can probably expect him to give you a formal apology some time today."

"Sirius. . ." Joey was getting a little impatient with his vagueness. "What did you do to him?"

"Oh. . .nothing, really. At least he doesn't think _I _did anything to him. . .it was just a friendly black dog who paid him a visit!"

Joey let out an impatient sounding sigh. "Sirius, can you put me down?"

Sirius paused in his tracks and gave her a confused look. "What did I-"

"Can you just put me down, please?" she asked again. Sirius put her down immediately. They didn't say another word on their way back. Joey couldn't help feel a little annoyed with him. She knew he was trying to defend her, but she had a feeling he'd just taken advantage of the situation in order to get to beat the crap out of his enemy.

They arrived at the Gryffindor tower, gave the fat lady their password, and headed into the warm common room. Big smiles crept up on both of their faces at the sight they saw. The other four of their best friends were all crowded and squished onto the couch and chairs that surrounded the Gryffindor common room's fire. Remus and Peter had taken the chairs, and Lily and James had curled up comfortably on the couch together.

Sirius and Joey exchanged looks and went over to wake up their friends. Joey squeezed on the couch next to Lily, and the pretty redhead's eyes fluttered open. She lifted her head off James' chest, which she had been sleeping on, and glanced over and saw Joey. Excitedly, she rapped her in a firm hug and began to get a bit teary eyed.

"Oh, Joey. . .we were so worried when we heard. . ." she trailed off in sobs. This had apparently been loud enough to wake everyone up, because Joey suddenly felt all of her other friends come over and rap her into a giant group hug. Everyone was feeling very relieved that she was okay, and they began talking excitedly all at once. Soon, they all decided to go up and get ready for breakfast and their first classes of the new year.

Please review! love, SJ


	7. Oh joy, classes start

_"Love doesn't make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile."_  
-Franklin P. Jones

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The hot shower felt good on Joey's sore body. Her headache was gone, but there was still a nagging sensation at the back of her mind. What was she going to do about Amos? Joey was trying desperately to organize her thoughts but was having trouble. The more she thought about it, the more confused she felt.

Joey was starting to get that headache again. She tried to relax and just let the hot shower water run down her face. Slow breathing. She tried to clear her thoughts once again. She knew what she had to do. . . talk to Amos.

Joey got out of the shower and threw on her robes. She patiently waited for Lily to take her shower, and spent the time wisely by getting all of her school things ready. She looked down at her schedule for that day and groaned. Advanced potions first period? _Great. _This day was just getting better and better. Professor McShailty was not friendly. In fact, she hated his guts, and he hated hers. Joey was just praying that she got in the same class that Remus did. He was the only person she could count on taking such an advanced potion class. All of her other friends either didn't have the grades or they were just too damn intimidated by McShailty to take the class.

Once Lily was ready, Joey grabbed Flam, who had been sleeping peacefully on her bed post, and the two girls hurried out of the Gryffindor tower and down to breakfast before the dining hall closed and first period started. They hurried into the dining hall, and rushed over to the Gryffindor table.

Joey just managed to get a glimpse over at the Hufflepuff table and her eyes easily found Amos. Damn. He looked terrible this morning. He had one black eye, scratches all over his body, and a rather puffy, black and blue jaw. His hair looked a complete mess, and when Diggory turned his head to talk to the person who was sitting next to him, Joey could see a rather large bald spot that had clearly developed from someone forcefully ripping it out during a fight. Joey could only imagine what else her friends had done to him. She found herself feeling pretty bad for him.

Lily and her made their way over to their saved seats and sat down with the boys. Joey looked over at Remus and practically begged him to give her some good news. "Remus. . .PLEASE tell me that you have advanced potions first period!" Remus looked up from his food and smiled brightly at her.

"Advanced potions, first period," he said happily. Joey felt a load of relief.

"Thank God!" she laughed. "We can suffer together."

"You know, I never understood why you guys put yourself through torture like that!" Sirius interrupted.

"You just don't understand our love of potions, that's all! You guys only hate it because of the teacher!" Joey said defensively.

"Well. . .that's a good reason, isn't it? How can you learn anything when the teacher is punishing you constantly?"

"You have to take potions with McShailty anyways, whether you have it advanced or not! It just depends on the level of learning you receive. You'll get your share of detentions no matter what you do!" Remus said laughing.

"Yes, that may be so. But along with advanced classes comes advanced punishment. I like to keep with the difficult, nicely taught classes." Sirius explained. Everybody rolled their eyes and continued eating. Sirius was probably one of the smartest people in the group, aside from Remus. He just had a habit of pretending like he didn't care about school.

Before they knew it, breakfast was over and everyone began clearing out of the dining hall, on their way to first period. Suddenly, Amos glanced up and saw Joey walking out of the Dining hall, accompanied by Remus. He shot out of his chair and hurried over to her.

"Jeeze, Amos! You look terrible!" Remus remarked. Joey elbowed him hard in the ribs. Amos looked over at him and smiled weakly.

"Well, actually, I was attacked by a rather ferocious dog yesterday," Amos looked around nervously as he said this. Joey's mouth almost dropped open. Amos obviously hadn't realized that the dog who had attacked him was Sirius. She felt bad picturing Amos admitting everything that had happened to a surprisingly intelligent dog.

"So, anyways, Joanne. . . I really need to talk to you. I am so, so sorry about what happened yesterday, and I hope with all my heart we can put it behind us." Joey hesitated for a moment as she thought about what he was saying.

She nodded slowly as she spoke, "Alright, Amos. We can talk later." She started to turn around and walk away when Amos grabbed her arm lightly. She turned around to see what he wanted. Leaning down, he kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"You know I'm sorry, don't you?" he practically whispered it. Joey just looked at him with a sad expression on her face. She wanted to forgive him, and part of her already had. Amos had been her boyfriend for. . . however long, she always forgot. . . but the point was, dumping him would be like scooping out a piece of her heart and throwing it away. She knew that he had scared her, but now she was even questioning her own judgment on what had happened the day before. Part of it was her fault as well. Maybe she should have just told Amos what he wanted to hear.

She smiled lightly at him, turned around, and walked towards the dungeons with Remus. EVERYONE was watching her, and she suddenly felt very awkward.

Potions went by about as quick as molasses. Joey was practically sleeping on Remus' shoulder by the time Professor McShailty had the class stop reading aloud from their text books. It was now time to take notes.

"Now class, take out your quills so that we can begin. As you just read in your texts, I'm sure you can guess what kind of potion we are going to create today." McShailty looked around the room expectantly. The only problem was, no one was paying enough attention before to make an accurate guess.

"No body knows?" The man heaved a fake sigh. "Five points from Gryffindor then!" Joey and Remus exchanged glances. And so it began. An entire year with McShailty still left to go, and it would be a complete surprise if the Gryffindor house had any points left by the end of it.

"Anyways," the professor continued, "today we are going to learn about truth serums. The first one we will take notes on is a truth serum involving love. The person to take the potion will immediately admit who they truly love, deep down in their sappy little heart." Professor McShailty looked almost disgusted with the idea. Joey actually wondered to herself if Professor McShailty had ever loved anybody in his life time. It was a miracle that the man even owned a heart in that cold-blooded body of his.

"Moving on to taking notes," McShailty progressed. "There are only two ingredients needed in this potion, in yet if the exact amounts of each ingredient aren't added perfectly, then I am sorry to say that you have created a rather deadly concoction. Now for the ingredients. . ."

McShailty took the time to turn around and draw a rather large heart on the black board, signifying that it was a truth/love potion. "Now, copy down everything I have on the board for your notes. The first, very important ingredient happens to be the juice of an Aster flower." The professor, once again, turned around and wrote the initials 'J.A.' in the heart, for short.

Joey giggled at this and leaned over to Remus whispering, "Those are my initials!"

"Yeah. . ." Remus played along. "Joey Atramentous loves. . ."

"And the second ingredient, class, is snake blood." The teacher turned around and wrote the initials 'S.B.' in the heart. The class followed by writing down the same thing on their parchments.

"Salty Bacon?" Joey whispered over to Remus in response to the new initials that were up on the board.

"What about Soapy Broccoli?" Remus chimed in, laughing.

"Sexy beast?" Joey was now cracking up.

"Sirius Black?" Remus mumbled barely loud enough for Joey to hear. She looked over at him with a weird expression on her face, but the other boy wouldn't look at her. She nudged him playfully with her shoulder against his. "You know it's true." Remus said like he was stating an obvious fact. Joey had the decency to feign a shocked expression.

"I have a boyfriend, Remus," Joey whispered back in response. Flam let out a loud 'hoot' as if he were arguing with that statement.

"Miss Atramentous! If you are unable to keep that. . . animal of yours shut up, then I suggest that you not bring it with you to class!"

"Sorry Professor!" Joey exclaimed as she stroked her bird. Flam had an extremely disgusted look on his face as he was about to take off in the direction of Professor McShailty. Saving her already crotchety teacher from getting a good peck on the head, Joey quickly grabbed Flam and shoved a treat in his mouth. Relaxing a bit, the bird curled back up on her shoulder and went to sleep.

The bell rang, and all the students took off out the door. Joey's second class, transfiguration, passed by much quicker and much less painful than potions had, and it was now time for lunch. Everyone by now was rushing to the dining hall. Joey wandered around just outside the dining hall waiting for Amos to find her. Once everyone in the great hall had filtered into the dining hall, some one came up next to her and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and saw Sirius standing there.

"Hey," he said, gazing down into her flawless, self-assured smile. "Remus told me during Care of Magical Creatures that you were going to be talking with Diggory during lunch." Joey gave him an expecting look when he said this. It almost made him uncomfortable that he wasn't sure what she was expecting him to say. "And I- uhhh. . ." He hesitated for a moment trying to choose his words carefully.

"Yeah?"

"I-" he almost paused again. "-just wanted to wish you luck," he forced out a little too quickly to sound sincere. "I hope you realize what you are looking for in a relationship, and find a person who'll treat you how you deserve. . . even if that person is Amos."

Joey couldn't believe what she was hearing. She smiled up at Sirius, feeling a little choked up. "Sirius, you've always been such a great friend, I-"

"And, Joey, I just wanted to apologize if I upset you this morning. I don't think I can bring myself to apologize for what I did to Diggory, because I feel he deserved it. . . But I didn't mean to seem like I enjoyed it so much. . ."

Joey had to laugh at Sirius. She knew she'd be a little abrupt with him that morning, but she certainly wasn't expecting an apology. She suddenly felt a little guilty. He'd spent the entire night by her side!

"Sirius, you big doofus, I'm not upset," she took a step closer to him and he wrapped her in a hug. He was really warm and comforting, Joey found. She nuzzled into his chest a little bit and felt his arms tighten around her slightly. His signature scent flouted up to her nose and she smiled pleasantly. Wow, this was really nice.

Joey was quickly snapped from her daydreaming by a shrill yell coming from somewhere behind her. She quickly dislodged herself from Sirius tight hug. Turning around, she saw Lily standing in the door way of the dining hall.

"Amos is looking for you!" she said. "He told me a few minutes ago to tell you that he's waiting for you in one of the library booths!" With that, Lily went back into the dining hall.

Joey turned back to Sirius just in time to see him take another step back. She silently cursed Lily for interrupting. "Well, I guess you should be on your way to the library." he said, making an effort to sound cheerful. He turned around and began walking towards the dining hall.

"Sirius!" she yelled, causing him to stop in his tracks and turn around, looking at her with an expression that said he knew he couldn't get his hopes up. "I-" she paused for a moment just like he had earlier. "thank you" she breathed out with a sigh.

He smiled slightly but shook his head in confusion. "For what?" he asked.

"For putting up with me," she answered. Sirius now had a vague smile on his face. It was an expression of both appreciation and torture. Joey, it seemed to him, would obviously never understand the way he felt about her. In her eyes, he would always be the loving brother. Sirius turned around and headed into the dining hall.

Trying to hold back the frustration, Joey turned around and made her way down the corridor to the library. She knew Diggory was waiting for her. Maybe he would be the comfort she needed right now. He did seem awfully sorry earlier. Maybe things would go back to the way they were between them at the beginning of their relationship. She continued thinking about this as she entered the library and made her way to the booth in which Amos was so patiently waiting.

Please review! love you all, SJ

* * *


	8. Here we go again

"Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart."  
- Washington Irving

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Joey slipped quietly into the library. It was almost completely empty, except for the plump old librarian who was asleep at her desk. Joey tiptoed passed the peaceful old lady into the booth that she could see Amos had occupied. She closed the door behind her, and Amos looked up eagerly.

"Joanne! I'm so, so glad that you came to talk to me!" Amos blurted out immediately. "I was really worried that you wouldn't give me a chance to apologize for what happened yesterday. . .and maybe after hearing me out, you'll be able to decide for yourself what you want to do. . . about us, I mean."

Joey smiled dryly at him and sat down. "Alright, Amos. I'm willing to hear what you have to say. However, there is one thing that I would like to point out before you continue. By far, I find one of the most important things that two people can have in a relationship is trust. Without trust, there's absolutely no love. Now can you possibly understand why I felt a little confused when you told me you loved me?"

"Of course I understand. The only problem, Joey, was that we had been going out for. . . quite a while now!"

"How long, Amos?" Joey challenged. "How long have we been dating?"

Amos tried to ignore her and press on with his point. "Don't you think that by now, two people would have already told each other that they loved one another?" Amos was looking rather distressed.

"You can't remember, can you?"

"Joey! I think it was sometime last winter or something. Maybe early spring? I can't see how this is relevant!"

Joey sighed patiently and let the silence hang in the air for a moment. "Amos, let me try and answer your question with one of my own. Don't you think that after all this time we've been dating, I should have felt comfortable enough around you to feel like I trusted you? And if I had, don't you think I would have felt compelled to tell you I loved you?"

"Wait a second. Are you saying that after all this time, you still don't trust me?" Amos looked hurt. Joey simply nodded at this. She was a little surprised to hear him figure it out on his own, though. She should give him more credit.

"Well, could you have blamed me? You were going to hit me!" She did her best to keep her voice steady. It was not in her to back down when she was trying to get a point across.

"I know, Joey. . .and I am so sorry. . ."Amos trailed off as her looked down at the floor. He was too embarrassed to look her in the face. "I guess I just got carried away. After you slapped me, I just-" Joey leaned over and cupped his face in her hand. She brought his face up so she was looking directly into it. Looking deep into his black eyes, she noticed how he looked so much different now than he had the day before. Sirius really did do a number on him.

"Amos. . .you're going to have to figure out that you are really frightening when you're angry!"

"I know. . . will you forgive me? I promise that I will never do anything to hurt you again. Please Joe. I'm asking –_begging-_ for you to forgive me. I just need another chance. I'll make sure you're able to trust me! I won't push you into anything. I really do care about you, I want you to know that." He finished as fresh tears began rolling down his cheeks. Joey just looked into his eyes, with a very contemplating stare.

Back in the dining hall, the five of Joey's friends ate lunch in a rather hushed silence. Flam, who was now sitting on Sirius' shoulder as he stared at his Shepard's pie, was the only one making any noise. He kept hooting loudly, obviously waiting for Sirius to slip him some meat. Sirius, however, seemed to be in a very heavy trance. Nothing was penetrating into his brain from the outside world. Even when Flam started nipping him sharply on the ear, he just sat there and stared down at his untouched food.

Everyone else began giving each other edging glances, trying to convince someone to say something to Sirius. Remus, who was sitting right next to James, gave him a painful jab in the side of the ribs.

"Ouch!" James bellowed. "That really hurt!" Everyone looked up at Sirius to see if he had reacted to the outburst. Nope.

"Umm. . .Sirius?" Remus was the one trying to get his attention now. No response. "Uhhh…SIRIUS!" He said it much louder now.

"What?" Sirius snapped as he continued to stare down at his food. Remus suddenly had a look of worry on his face. He really hadn't expected Sirius to answer him . . . and now he couldn't think of anything to say. Everyone's eyes began to dart around the group, obviously trying to figure out what to say that could possibly make him feel better.

Getting fed up, Sirius looked up into the faces of his friends to see what they wanted. Trying to make eye contact with one of them was virtually impossible, considering each one he looked at immediately averted their eyes back down to their food. Growling loudly, Sirius stood up and walked out of the dining hall.

He meant to make his way to the Gryffindor common room, but stopped on the stairs as he noticed Joey, who was alone, coming down them. She smiled and stopped on the stairs when she was level with him.

"Hey," she said. Glancing over at Flam, who was sitting on his shoulder, she noticed Sirius' ear was bleeding. Clearly, Flam had gotten carried away with the nipping when Sirius had been ignoring him during lunch. "Oh, no! Flam bit you!"

"Oh, no, really. . . I'm okay. . .it doesn't even hurt any. Joey, I-" he trailed off as Joey reached up to pull Flam off his shoulder. She was mumbling something about the damn bird always biting people. She finally stopped and looked as though she were waiting for Sirius to finish his sentence.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Uh. . . what happened wi-" Once again, he never got to finish his sentence. The bell began ringing deafeningly as it echoed through the great hall, signaling the end of lunch.

"Well, I guess I better head off to charms now," she said.

"Oh, yeah . . . hey wait! I have charms right now too!"

"Oh, good! I was worried that I was going to have another class all by myself, just like transfiguration." The two friends smiled at the good news and hurried off to charms together. They found their seats and resumed talking again.

"So, tell me, Joey. What happened with Amos?"

Joey hesitated for a moment. She looked up at Sirius with mixed look of apprehension and anticipation. She wasn't sure how Sirius would handle this. "Actually," she began slowly, "he was really sincere in his apologies . . ." Sirius already knew where this was going and his heart dropped. "I ended up deciding to give him another chance, Sirius. . . please don't be upset with me . . ."

Sirius' felt like his heart just sunk to the pit of his stomach. He wasn't sure whether he was hurt more by the fact that Joey and Amos were getting back together, or by the fact that she was actually worried he would be angry with her that she had made that decision. Leaning in, he pulled the top of her head down, and kissed it heavily, getting a nice whiff of her sweet fragranced hair.

"Oh, Joey . . . you should know by now . . . I'm not really capable of being angry with you about anything. . . especially about a decision you made concerning you own heart. Whatever makes you happy, makes me even happier." Joey leaned in and let him wrap her into a tight hug. His fresh scent was all she needed to relax her nerves back into an easy state. She had been so worked up about this whole thing. Now it seemed like her life would actually start looking up.

Charms started, and Professor Flitwick asked everyone to take out their parchments and begin taking notes on the lecture he had planned. Joey reached into her backpack and pulled out the stack of papers that she had failed to organize from earlier that day. Placing them on the table, she began sorting them out, trying to find a clean one she could write on. Finally finding a suitable piece, she jerked it out of the stack, causing her Potion notes to fall to the floor, by the feet of the pale, greasy haired boy sitting in front of her.

Looking down, the boy noticed the parchment sitting at his feet and he bent down to pick it up. The boy saw what was written on the sheet and whipped around to see who owned it. Realizing who the boy was, Sirius growled at him, "Give that back to Joey, Snape!"

The boy smiled evilly and looked over at Joey who was reaching to snatch it back out of his hands. "Well, well, well . . . what do we have here?"

Joey suddenly felt sick as she realized what was written on the potion notes that the malicious boy, Snape, was holding. "J.A. loves S.B.?" the boy cackled loudly. "How quaint."

Joey was getting frantic. She see, out of the corner of her eye, Sirius looking rather confused. He really had caught on to what Snape was implying. Snape took this lovely opportunity to rub in the trouble he had just caused. Laughing, he continued on in a mocking tone. "Joanne Atramentous wuvs Sirius Bl-"

Sirius now took this opportunity to lean forward, grab Snape by the collar of his dungy robes, and jerk him forward, snatching the paper out of his hand. He threw him back into his chair once the parchment had been nicely handed back to Joey.

Joey smiled sheepishly over at him and thanked him for getting her potion notes back for her. _Super. _She could just feel her ears boiling red in embarrassment, as she tucked the parchment back into the stack of papers it had fallen out of, and stuffed them into her back pack. She was so embarrassed, that she couldn't even look at Sirius for the rest of charms to even make an effort to explain what the notes had meant.

Joey and Sirius walked out of charms together, and headed back to the Gryffindor common room. Seeing Remus already sitting on the couch by the fire, curled up reading a book on muggle artifacts, they walked over and joined him. Monday's classes were finally over, and it was time to relax. They still had an hour before dinner, so the friends sat around the fire and waited for the rest of their gang to show up.

Once everyone was together again, they started asking Joey questions about Amos. She gladly filled them in on all of the details, but noticed Sirius keeping himself busy with other things as she spoke to the whole gang.

The hour passed, and they went down to eat dinner together. Before they knew it, it was about nine o'clock, and they were already starting to feel the days events catching up with them.

Lily and Joey decided to turn in early, so they said good night to the boys, and wandered up the stairs into their empty dorm room. Their other dorm mates, they assumed, were probably out having a 'good time' with some guys. The girls got ready for bed, tucked themselves in, but didn't turn the light off. Lily still wanted some of the details on Joey's feelings about her guy problems that she wasn't able to share in front of the boys.

"So why did you feel like you had to get back together with Amos. I mean, I honestly thought it was over between the two of you . . . is there anything more, that you just aren't telling anyone, Joey?"

"Huh? What do you mean . . . not telling anybody? You aren't suggesting that you think we've . . .you know"

"No! No, not really. I mean, I was just wondering . . . oh, I don't know!" Lily stammered nervously.

"Lily! I haven't slept with him, so get it out of your head!"

The red head just nodded for a moment soaking it in. The room was silent for all of about a second before Lily fired off another question.

"Amos wasn't your first kiss, was he? Cause I know it might be hard to let go of people like that-"

"No . . . he wasn't my first kiss." A smile was beginning to creep across Joey's face. She tried to hold it back, but it was too strong for her.

"What?" Lily asked with a very interested tone.

"Oh, nothing . . . I was just thinking about my first kiss . . ." she trailed off with the smile growing wider.

"Well? Who was it, then?" Lily demanded. Joey simply shrugged, trying to look innocent. "Oh my _god_!" Lily squealed. "It was one of the marauders, wasn't it?" Joey glanced over at her with her eyebrows raised. "It was!" Lily gave another squeal of delight when Joey smirked a little. "And? Well, which one!"

Joey just quietly laughed to herself. Lily was so easy to tease.

Please review! Thank you to you all! Love, SJ


	9. Confessions

_"Gravitation can not be held responsible for people falling in love."  
_-Albert Einstein

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Lily's emerald eyes were now glowing with excitement. She jumped out of her bed, tripped on the sheets that were tangled up in her feet, and landed with a hard thud on the stone floor of the dormitory. Joey, now picturing the redhead lying motionless on the stone floor, leaned over the edge of her bed just in time to have Lily pop off the ground in a whirl of excitement.

"I'm okay!" she laughed as she hopped up onto Joey's bed and grabbed her friend's shoulders. She leaned her face in towards Joey's with a very suspicious look in her eyes. "Just tell me who it is!"

"Oh . . . why do you care so much?"

"Joey! Do you not understand the significance of a first kiss!"

"Well, judging by the new deafeningly high pitch of your voice, I'm guessing I don't. . ."

"Eeeeaak!" Lily squealed. Joey covered her ears. And then with a much calmer tone, she continued as if she were reading a passage out of a book. "Thou shall be careful who thou shall first kiss, for thou destiny doth lie with that moment of bliss."

"Huh? Where the hell did you hear that load of sh-"

"It means that your first kiss is who you are destined to be with!"

"Yeah. . . I got what it meant. My question to you, however, was where the hell did you hear that load of rubbish?" There was a very weird, not so kosher, look coming across Lily's face.

"You don't think it's true, then? Cause . . . I don't know . . . I guess it's only true for some people! You know . . . the ones who 'really' meant their first kiss."

"And who said we didn't really mean our first kiss? Sirius and I wer-"

"HAHAHAHAHA! Omigod! I thought you wouldn't fall for that one!" Lily was now hopping up and down on the bed on her knees. Joey started laughing.

"You little sneak! I guess it would come out sooner or later. . ." both girls started laughing, and Lily finally stopped bouncing.

"Well? And how'd it happen, I ask?" Joey rolled her eyes. She knew it wasn't over yet.

"We were . . . well . . . we were in our third year . . ."

"Yeah! AND?"!" the frenzy had started up again. Lily looked like she was going to start bouncing again.

"McShailty had us in detention."

"Omigod! You made out in front of McShailty!" Joey let out a hearty laugh as Lily sat their horrified.

"No, no . . . we waited 'till he left the room. I can still remember what he said: 'You two better not do ANYTHING while I deliver these papers to Dumbledore.'" Both girls giggled a little. "Sirius and I just looked over at each other. Then he just leaned in and kissed me on my lips." Joey let out an inaudible sigh. "You know, come to think of it. . . Sirius probably didn't mean anything by it. After all, he is just a boy always making an effort to bend the rules . . . Probably gave him a thrill just because he wasn't listening to what McShailty told him to do."

Lily suddenly had a dazed look on her face. Her eyes looked all misty, and she sighed very deeply. "That is so romantic." Joey gave her an odd look.

"Are you kidding?" Lily looked up at her, startled when she said this.

"No way!" Lily tried to convince her, "I mean . . . think about it! A person who kisses you in the least romantic place ever, McShailty's room in this case, is bound to be your destiny!"

"So you're saying that because of Sirius' lack of sentimentality, we are destined to be together?" Joey's sounded rather skeptical.

"Well . . . McShailty's office is still special to you to this day, is it not?" Lily sounded expectant.

"Yeah . . . okay, so maybe it is a little. What are you getting at?"

"If someone can take a place as wretched and unwelcoming as McShailty's office and make it 'special' to you . . . doesn't that mean something?" Joey looked down at the embroidered quilt that was lying on top of her. She started twirling her fingertips around a loose thread. "That's what I thought!" Lily smiled as she got back into her bed and leaned over to turn out the light.

"Omigod, Lily!" Joey practically screamed. Lily's hand shot away from the light she was about to turn off. "Where's Flam!" Lily rolled her eyes.

"Good lord, girl! You loose that bird more times than you can keep track of. You know Sirius has him. It's 10 o'clock! Just go to sleep and get him in the morning!"

"But I really want to get him now!" Lily rolled her eyes again. Then a suspicious little twinkle came into them.

"You want to go see Sirius, don't you?" The redhead let out an evil little cackle. "Thinkin' about him makes you want to ease your cravings to go see him?" Joey picked up a pillow that was sitting on her bed and chucked it, hard, at Lily's face. Lily caught the pillow and just held it there, making a great effort to muffle the laughing that was bursting out from her mouth.

Joey rolled her eyes and crept out of the dormitory. As she was slinking down the dark hall towards the stairway that led down to the common room, she could see a light that was flooding into the hall. . . someone was clearly still down in the common room. She crept a little closer and could hear quiet laughter and talking. There was a strong odor of butterbeer that was wafting over to her nose.

After silently descending down the stairs, she peeked around the corner, and could see where the light, laughter, and talking was emitting from. The four marauders were lounged about on the furniture around the fire, obviously looking a little boozed up from all the butterbeer. James was laughing the hardest. He was leaning over Sirius and talking rather loudly.

"So, mate, then you just. . . kissed her? . . . In McShailty's _office_?" James was looking the most plastered. "That's disgusting!"

"Yea, man! What is wrong with you!" All the boys burst out laughing.

"Well, what about you?" Sirius fired back at James, still laughing. "Your first kiss with Lily was in a broom closet right next to Flitwick's room!" All four of the boys roared with laughter at this. Joey had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing as well. Lily's first kiss was James? Of course! She groaned to herself. No wonder Lily was ranting on about how first kisses determine who you end up with . . .Lily and James were meant to be together, and she knew it!

The boys started calming down a bit. Joey leaned around the corner, and could clearly see Flam sitting . . . well more like swaying around on Sirius' shoulder. 'oh, God!' she laughed to herself. 'My bird's bombed!" Suddenly, Remus looked over at Sirius with a very unfocused, but serious, look.

"But you still lover her, mate? Don't you?"

There was a very thick silence that hung in the room for a moment. The firelight was flickering off everyone and everything. Joey almost gasped when she could have _sworn_ she saw Remus' eyes flicker over at her for a millisecond. Did he know she was there or was the firelight playing tricks on her? Joey leaned in closer so that she could hear Sirius' response.

Everyone heard Sirius heave a loud sigh before he said anything.

"Oh, why does it even matter?" he began. "She got her lovely little Dickory!" The butterbeer was definitely catching up to him. He was mumbling to himself, a bit incoherently. Not much could be made out. ". . . bastard. . ." he mumbled again before taking another swig from his glass.

"But you do, don't you?" Now it was Peter's turn to push an answer out of him. Sirius looked down at the fire, lost in thought. . . almost like he was waiting for the right moment to answer the question.

By now, Joey was leaning so far forward to hear what Sirius was about to say, she nearly lost her balance. Suddenly, a few things happened all at once.

Sirius opened his mouth to speak just as Joey was leaning a bit to far forward to hear him better. She hit her elbow really sharply on the stone wall, causing no one but Flam to turn his head over towards the stair way and let out a loud 'hoot.' Everyone looked up at Flam's startled movement, and then was surprised to see the bird take off towards the stairway. Flam flew around the corner, and hooted joyfully (and rather drunkenly) when he saw Joey there. Trying to hush him, Joey clamped the bird's beak shut with her hand and went sprinting back up the stairs into her dormitory.

The boys looked around at each other nervously. They suddenly decided that maybe they should call it a night. They put out the fire and went stumbling up towards their dormitories. In the darkness, Remus glanced over in the direction of the girls' stairway and just shook his head slowly. He knew Joey had been sitting there listening. He laughed to himself when he pictured what her face must have looked like when Flam came flying around the corner to greet her.

James suddenly collided into the back of Remus, walking up the stairs. He pushed him the rest of the way up to their room, and the four boys got ready for bed and went to sleep.

Thanks for reading! Please review! love, SJ


	10. Getting the 411

_"I was nauseous and tingly all over. I was either in love or I had smallpox."  
_-Woody Allen

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Joey was now in her dark dormitory, leaning up against the inside of the heavy door. She could hear Lily's deep, gentle breathing a few feet away from her. It was a great contrast against Joey's fast-paced erratic heartbeat. She still hadn't caught her breath from sprinting all the way up the stone steps in a pair of flannel socks. Her mind was racing over what she had just heard.

Sirius was clearly upset about the fact that she and Amos were back together, but why hadn't he tried to stop her from getting back with him in the first place? Joey put her hand to her head, trying to take it all in. And boys say girls are hard to understand!

Sirius had practically just told his friends that he was in love with her. And what was with Remus' question? His words were still ringing in her ears: "You _still_ love her, don't you?" Joey was suddenly finding it hard to breathe. It was hard for her to believe Amos if he told her that he loved her, but if Sirius had ever said it to her . . . that would be a completely different story.

Joey crawled back to her bed and tried to go to sleep. She could feel Flam curl up next to her, his soft feathers tickling her ear. Giggling quietly as the drunken bird cooed gently in her ear, she leaned over and kissed him lightly on the forehead. Breathing deeply, she could still smell Sirius' crisp essence clinging to Flam's down feathers. She cuddled up to her soft owl and allowed herself to be lulled by the fresh aroma into a deep sleep.

The next month went by all too slowly. Diggory had practically been stepping on eggshells around Joey to try and get her to start trusting him, and Lily and James were starting to get back into a mode of fighting. The tension in the air was easily blamed on the fact that everyone was nervously anticipating the upcoming masquerade ball. No matter how many people tried to coax Dumbledore into telling them about it, he would simply just shake his head and smile brightly. "You'll find out soon enough!" he would exclaim, "lemon drop?"

One Thursday morning, right before the day of Halloween, Joey and her friends were sitting around the Gryffindor breakfast table, coming up with logical ideas that Dumbledore might have had planned to find everyone a date for the ball.

"Maybe he's going to pick lots!" Lily exclaimed.

"Lily," James laughed, "that is such a muggle thing to say!"

"Well what do you think he had planned?" Lily shot back, looking rather offended.

"He's going to do the 'pick and stick' thing. You know . . .where he just grabs random people who walk in the door and force them to dance together!"

"Oh, please!" Joey said, rolling her large eyes. "I think that Dumbledore is going to carefully analyze the situation and match people together based on whose personalities fit together best!"

"But then we'd get stuck with just the people we hang out with every day!" Peter chimed in.

"What would be wrong with that?" Sirius asked bewildered. "I'd much rather be paired with Joey or Lily than someone like . . . Suzy Pudgiegutt!" Sirius ended with a dramatic shiver, as if the thought disgusted him to even think about it.

"What's wrong with Suzy Pudgiegutt?" Peter asked, seeming a little offended.

"Besides the fact that it'd be hard to get both arms around her?" James asked, making Sirius burst out laughing. "Be a bit like hugging a tree trunk, me thinks." Both boys started howling. Remus just rolled his eyes along with Lily and Joey.

"You don't even know her!" Peter roared, blushing a little when he realized he overreacted.

"Oh . . . sorry, mate." Sirius said, sobering up immediately. James was still laughing, of course. Lily made sure to punch him hard in the ribs to get him to shut up.

"We didn't mean any offense. Was just trying to make a point, is all." Sirius glanced around the group with a sheepish look on his face. A moment of silence passed as everyone was trying so hard to hide the smiles that were creeping across their faces. It was now very obvious who Peter had been hoping to go to the ball with.

"So, Remus, how do you think Dumbledore is going to do it?" Joey asked, desperately trying to change the subject from Suzy or her Pudgiegutt.

"Oh, I don't know . . . well, maybe he would use the- . . .no, too risky." By now everyone was looking over at him curiously.

"Well you aren't just planning on getting us at the edge of our seats and leavin' us there, do ya?" Sirius asked with a displeased look on his face.

"Well, I was just going to suggest that maybe he would use the truth serum . . . Joey, you know . . . the one we learned about on our first day of potions?" Remus looked up hopefully. James started laughing nervously.

"You mean that you think Dumbledore would use a truth serum to figure out who to pair with who to go to the ball together?" James enquired. Remus nodded.

"That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard!" Sirius mocked.

"And why is it stupid?" Remus wondered aloud, insulted by the notion that any idea of his could be considered stupid.

"Because," Sirius explained. "If Dumbledore did that, and actually went by what people truly, deep down in the bottom of their hearts, wanted, then about three quarters of the female population would be going to the ball with Amos Diggory!" The whole group, including Remus, started laughing.

"Well, it would've worked besides that!" Remus laughed.

"Whatever you say, Moony," James said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, really!" Remus was sounding impatient and had lost all hint of laughter in his voice. "If you guys could really just see how ignorant you act to each other's feelings, then I wouldn't be jerked back and forth having to see one of you guys hurting and the other one confused . . .then the next day, the other one of you hurting while the other one is confused . . . it makes me sick!" And with that, Remus stood up and marched his way out of the dining hall.

The group sat in silence for a few minutes before Peter broke in. "Well, I wonder what that was all about!" James and Sirius exchanged looks while Joey and Lily did, too.

Laughing nervously, James said, "Well, Remus must be worried about who he's going to be stuck with! Must have had a bad nightmare or something where he got paired to go to the ball with Snape!" Everyone laughed and headed out of the dining hall to first period.

By the looks of it, it seemed like Dumbledore didn't have anything planned, considering Halloween had already snuck up on them and nobody knew what was going on. By mid-afternoon, however, there was rumor spreading around the school that Dumbledore had arranged a meeting with all of the male sixth and seventh years. They were to meet right after dinner, in the dining hall. Under no circumstances, however, were they to disclose any important information to anyone about what Dumbledore was going to talk to them about.

Everyone practically inhaled their dinners in hopes to find out some information as soon as possible. Before they knew it, Joey, Lily, and the rest of Hogwarts population, that didn't include the sixth and seventh year males, were being shoved out of the dining hall, back to their common rooms. Rather huffily, Lily and Joey proceeded into Gryffindor tower, plopped themselves down on the floor in front of the hot fire, and started up a game of wizard's chess.

The game had just finished (With Lily as the victor), when the four marauders and the rest of the Gryffindor sixth/seventh year boys came walking happily into the common room. The boys all seemed to have a little extra spring in their steps as they dispersed into their own directions (dorm rooms, homework benches, etc.). The marauders however, silently made their way over to where the girls were sitting, and calmly joined them. There was an almost smug look across all four boys' faces, and it was very clear to Joey and Lily that they had some very juicy information that they were keeping from them.

"Well?" Lily asked expectantly, as James took a seat next to her on the floor. He leaned back against the couch behind him, sprawled his legs out in front of him, and heaved a deep sigh, acting like he hadn't heard a peep out of pretty red-head next to him.

"Ummm. . .hello? James Potter, don't you dare ignore me!" Joey was getting a little edgy now, too. "Did you guys learn anything new!" James just looked over at both girls and gave them a cheesy smile.

"We're not at liberty to say," James said with a very complacent look across his face. The other boys snickered. This was obviously not alright with Lily, however. She exchanged an evil look with Joey, and turned back to James.

She leaned over towards him and placed her delicate hand on top of his leg, just above his kneecap. James blushed lightly. She then slid her hand up his quad, so that her palm was now resting on his upper thy, and her fingers dangled dangerously close to his . . . ahemm . . . crotch. James pupils turned the size of large, black marbles, and it was suddenly impossible to see any of the sapphire blue that had been emitting from them just a few seconds before. Lily leaned her face in so that her cherry-red lips were merely inches from his face, and gave him seductive smirk. In an extremely provocative tone, she tried again.

"So," she whispered in his ear. "are you 'sure' there isn't anything you want to . . . share, with me?" James gulped loud enough to wake up people sleeping in their dorms upstairs.

"Well, I uhhh. . . I uhhh . . .uhhh" James couldn't seem to take his eyes away from the hand that was pleasantly invading his personal space. Lily's fingers were now impatiently playing with the seam that ran up the inner side of his pant leg. Lily was obviously pushing every single button on James Potters' body. He was biting his lip so hard, that all of his friends were worried that he might even chew a hole through it.

"Jesus! Go easy on him Lil!" Remus laughed, sitting on the chair closest to the fire. Lily giggled seductively into James ear, but did not take her hand away. She was enjoying watching James squirm. James cleared his throat loudly.

"Well . . . ummm . . .I guess we can tell you a few things." Everyone in the group's ears perked up, including the other boys'. "I'll just say that it's a pretty. . . well, primitive thing that Dumbledore has us doing," James managed to croak out. Lily leaned in even further so that her moist lips brushed past his silky hair as she spoke into his ear.

"Is that all you can tell me?" she practically whimpered.

"Uhhh . . .well, yeah kind of. But, I can say that you girls will most likely enjoy it!" James managed to force out the sentence in an entire breath. He sighed deeply. Without taking her hand away, Lily looked over at Joey and nodded. Lily leaned over and gave James a big, wet kiss on the side of his face. Both girls stood up (Lily using the hand on James' leg to help her up), and both of them walked over to the girls' dormitory stairs. The girls were in pieces by the time they reached them, and huge, wet tears were rolling down their faces as they clambered up towards their room.

James, on the other hand, was still breathing erratically, and he just sat there, staring, unblinkingly into the fire. Sirius scooted over and sat right next to him. He looked over and asked, while trying to stifle a laugh, "You alright, mate?"

"Yeah," James managed to squeak out. Remus began laughing heartily.

"Damn, she sure played you!" The three boys started roaring with laughter and slapping hands as James just sat there, still staring at the fire, with one hand placed on his face where Lily had kissed him.

A review would be greatly appreciated! Love, SJ


	11. Speaking your mind

_"A friend is someone with whom you dare to be yourself."  
-_Frank Crane 

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Friday finally came, and brought with it the cheerful atmosphere of Halloween. The students happily had the day off, and were permitted to go to Hogsmead for the wonderful occasion. The weather, however, was quite the opposite of how everyone was feeling. As everyone crammed into the carriages that would lead them over to the town, the rain was pouring, and random flickers of thunder and lightning could be seen and heard streak across the sky.

"I certainly hope the weather's not like this tonight at the ball!" Lily squeaked, as she was smashed between James and Peter in their carriage.

"Oh, stop worrying, Lily!" James said with a cheerful holiday smile. "We'll be inside!"

"Yes, but I was kind of hoping for a lovely, starry atmosphere on the enchanted ceiling of the dining hall . . . not some cloudy, rainy mess!" James laughed, causing his messy black hair to brush against Lily's forehead.

"Oh, that reminds me . . ." Lily began looking up at James' tangled disarray of hair. "You _are_ planning to comb your hair before the ball, aren't you?"

James looked down at her, eyebrows raised. "What's it to you, my dear?"

"Oh, I don't know . . ." Lily smiled nervously as she looked down at the carriage floor. "Just thought that if I was the girl who was forced into dancing with you . . . not implying that I would _want_ to be the girl who would dance with you . . . although I might if I was _forced_ to. . . well maybe not even forced . . . more like strongly advised to do so . . . I think that I might want to have some one who had properly combed hair, you know?. . . that's all . . . no big deal!"

Lily looked up from the tunnel-vision stare she had had on the floor, and glanced wildly around at all the people sitting across from her in the carriage. She was almost daring one of them to laugh. James, on the other hand, was desperately trying to make eye contact with her. When he finally managed to do so, his eyebrows were still practically touching his hair-line, and he was giving her a very serious 'are you for real?' look.

Remus, Sirius, and Joey exchanged glances. This was more then they could handle. It was definitely a priority for them to get the two love birds together. And that night would be the perfect opportunity to make sure Lily and James ended up as dance partners.

The time in Hogsmead went by pretty relaxingly. Despite the torrential rain that was pounding on all of the stores' roofs, everyone felt very comfortable in the warm, toasty air of the different shops and stores. Joey had arranged to meet Amos when they got there, and the two of them had spent the afternoon wandering in and out of Honeydukes, Zonko's Joke shop, and many other little stores. Of course, by the end of the after noon, they had found themselves in the three broomsticks, enjoying a nice hot cup of butterbeer.

They had just sat down at table, when Sirius and Remus came sauntering into the store. Seeing them, Joey happily waved them over. The boys casually ordered their drinks at the bar, and came over to join Joey and Amos. They pulled up some chairs, and just before sitting down, Sirius held out his hand for Amos to shake. To everyone else at the table, it looked like a peace offering, but when Amos simply looked at Sirius' hand that was held out in front of him, he looked more like he wanted to spit in it than shake it.

Noticing his reaction, Sirius glanced over at Joey. He really, really, really still hated Amos . . . but for Joey's sake, he _was_ doing his best to at least get along with the guy! If he was going to act like that, however, then screw him. Sirius made to pull his hand away, when Amos suddenly grabbed it and shook it, seeming to have realized that it would be best to put on a good show in front of Joey. Amos forced a smile at Sirius, making sure Joey observed the effort.

"So . . . Joey!" Sirius began, trying to keep himself distracted from Amos' calculating stare.

He continued uncomfortably, "We really need to plan out some course of action for 'Operation Lily and James!'"

"Oh yes, of course! For the ball tonight, right?" Remus and Sirius nodded. "So are you sure we are going to be able to get them together? I mean . . . I don't know what Dumbledore has planned. However, I know you guys do, and that can be a big help!"

"You know, I don't think we really have that much to worry about," said Remus calmly. "Judging by Lily's little stammer in the carriage this morning, I'd have to say we have the couple in the bag . . . we just have to be sure that-" Remus stopped before he finished his sentence. He had a look on his face like he almost gave away classified information. Nervously, he took a huge gulp of his butterbeer, tried to casually scratch the back of his head, and didn't say another word.

"What is it Remus?" Joey asked excitedly. "What do we have to be sure of?" Remus glanced over at Sirius, who gave him a look that seemed to be telling him to shut up. Sirius looked at Joey as if he knew what to say without giving away too much.

"We just have to be careful that," Sirius almost paused, but then continued, "somebody else doesn't get to James before Lily does." Joey looked at him a little confused for a moment, but then decided to try and ask another question.

"What makes you think someone will get to James before Lily does? What if it's the other way around and someone get to Lily before James?"

All three boys at the table exchanged glances. They looked back at her and shook their heads, obviously saying that they couldn't give away any more information. Joey was now feeling very out-of-the-loop. After all, she _was_ the only person at that table who had no idea what the hell was going on!

"Oh, _whatever_!" she practically growled. "Well, I certainly hope that James and Lily don't end up getting stuck with complete strangers just because I wasn't informed enough to know how to avoid it!"

The table sat in silence for a moment. Trying to get their minds off the dispute, Amos looked over at Joey and changed the subject a bit.

"That reminds me, Joanne," he began. "Judging by how Dumbledore has us being matched up with people, I might not end up as your date. You'll be okay with me dancing with another girl, won't you?"

Joey looked over at him with quite a forced smile. "Of course I'd be okay with it! I-" she seemed to pause as she swallowed the saliva in her mouth, "_trust_. . . you."

She went back to her obligatory smile and then stripped her gaze from Amos' in order to keep him from reading her thoughts. She looked across the table at Remus and gave him a smile that she _hoped _appeared casual (never once looking over at Sirius), before looking down at her mug. The butterbeer was still frothy and golden, swishing around peacefully in the big ceramic mug. She took a huge swig and paused for a moment before deciding to chug the rest of it.

Sirius, Remus, and Amos just sat there, staring at her with their mouths hanging open slightly. Joey finished chugging, and, after slamming the glass down on the table (probably a little harder than she should have), she shot up out of her chair.

"I gotta go to the bathroom," she announced, turning around, slamming back her own chair, and stumbling off towards the toilet room, trying to avoid knocking into any chairs and tables that were in the way.

Remus just watched after her, shaking his head slowly and almost laughing to himself. Poor Joey. When he looked back at the other boys at the table, however, he was almost shot out of his chair by the looks Sirius and Amos were giving each other. Damn! If looks could kill . . .

An evil looking smile crept over Amos' face. When he opened his mouth to speak, a smug, egotistical tone was emitted. "So, Black. . ." he began.

"Diggory . . ." Sirius responded with an even harsher scowl. Only, when he said it, his voice kind of had a light choppiness to it, causing the word 'Diggory' to sound more like 'Dickory.'

"With this little Lily and James shenanigan that you and Joey are trying to pull off," he said with a mocking tone, "I really hope it's not some _desperate_ attempt to keep her in your pathetic little life. . ."

Sirius growled deeply, but then put a very complacent smile across his face. Still smiling, he said in a very calm and steady voice, "You know, Amos; before you and Joey got together, I never really believed the saying that 'opposites attract.'" He gave a nice fake little smile to go along with the fake little laugh that was now emitting from inside him. He continued in a perky little tone. "But now that you _are_ together, it's perfectly easy for me to understand . . . that is, considering the fact the Joey is an attractive, honest, intelligent person, who is in no way a complete _fuckwit_ like yourself!"

The very self-approved tone that was previously on Amos' face, had changed into a look of fury. Remus had a sudden urge to let out a loud, nervous laugh. He chomped down on his bottom lip from doing so, though.

"But I suppose the point is I _am _with her, now aren't I?" he asked, still sounding pompous, but having quite and angry hint to his voice.

Sirius glared. "For now. . ."

Amos opened his mouth to speak again, but before he could, everyone could hear the door at the back of the pub open. They all turned to see Joey walk out of the toilet room. She looked a lot more refreshed than she had earlier, and the light spring in her step, which showed off her perky attitude, greatly contrasted with the heavy tension that had been building up in the room between Sirius and Amos, mere seconds before.

Ignoring the half surprised, half baffled looks that were across the three boys' faces, she leaned down, kissed Amos lightly on the lips and said, "Thanks for a lovely day."

Looking up, she continued while everyone just watched in silence, "Remus, Sirius; you boys ready to go catch our carriage?" Remus and Sirius obediently stood up and followed her towards the exit of the pub. Before leaving, Sirius turned around and gave Amos one quick, pointed glare and nod.

They stumbled out into the rain, and stopped under an overhang where they had arranged to meet the carriage and the rest of their gang. It was cold out having to wait in the terrible weather. Joey found herself tucking her arm into Sirius,' just to stay warm. He clearly didn't mind this, judging by the warm smile that swept across his face.

"It was hard for you to say it to him, wasn't it?" Sirius asked her seriously.

"Huh?" Joey asked a little bewildered. "Say what to whom?"

"Tell Amos that you trusted him," he tried to say casually. Although, it did come out sounding a little forced. After all, it wasn't easy for him to say the name 'Amos' without becoming extremely angry.

"Oh . . ." Joey said, sounding a little uncomfortable. "Well, I think I'm allowed to, aren't I?"

"Well, yes, of course you are allowed to . . . I was simply enquiring the difficulty in doing so." Sirius was desperately trying to make the conversation seem casual.

"Oh, Sirius . . . you know it'd be so much easier for me to trust him if I knew you had a little faith in him."

"Well, then I guess you are always going to have some trouble with that," he said bitterly. She hugged his arm and kissed the shoulder of his rain-soaked coat. He had no idea how much it tore her apart inside to have her best friend absolutely loathe her boyfriend.

"But I'll always have you to protect me if I get hurt again, right?" she said, making an effort to comfort him.

"That's the point, Joey," Sirius sighed, "I'm trying to _keep_ you from getting hurt."

Joey let out a slow sigh. "I know," she mumbled.

Sirius looked down at her, completely somber, "Joey, you know you can always, _always _trust me."

She nodded and gave him an appreciative smile as he wrapped her in a tight hug. Remus, who had been standing on the other side of Joey the entire time, was now chuckling to himself and feeling very much like a third wheel.

Sirius heard him and looked up. "Aw, do you want a hug too, Remy?"

Remus looked over at him and rolled his eyes. "No," he said with exaggerated seriousness.

Sirius let out a hearty laugh as he wrapped his arms around Remus as well as Joey. He now had his arms wrapped around both his friends, Joey uncomfortably smashed in the middle. Everyone was laughing so hard, they hardly remembered how cold it was. Remus finally started struggling to get free and Joey began complaining that she couldn't breathe, so Sirius had to finally let them both go.

James, Lily, and Peter soon arrived to the group, closely followed by the carriage. They all squeezed back into the small buggy, and it sped off towards Hogwarts. The anticipation for what awaited them all that night was almost too painful to bear. The boys were nervous because of what they _knew_ awaited them, and the girls were equally nervous because they _didn't_ know what awaited them. It was just a sour mix of apprehension, agitation, and anxiety all blended into one as the silent bunch of teenagers headed home.

Thanks for reviewing! Love, SJ


	12. Standing out of the Crowd

You people are amazing. That's all i can say.

_"There is a place you can touch a woman that will drive her crazy. Her heart."  
_-Melanie Griffith

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When the carriage finally pulled up to Hogwarts, all of the nervous friends clambered up to the castle, doing their best to keep the rain off their heads. They clustered into the great hall, and glanced around at each other with wet soppy smiles.

"So who's ready for the ball?" James laughed as his drenched mop of hair dripped down his face and onto his already sopping robes.

The six friends climbed up the stone stairs to Gryffindor tower, into the warm common room, and up, again, towards their dormitories. The boys hurriedly showered and got ready. They had to be down at the dining hall by six thirty, while the girls weren't supposed to be down there until seven.

Lily and Joey were pleased to find that their roommates were already showered and dressed when they came into the room. As the other girls did their hair, Lily and Joey took turns in the shower, and slipped on their beautiful dress gowns. When the girls were finally done with their hair and makeup as well, they just turned to each other and got a good look at one another. They looked incredible!

Lily had on a dazzling jade green gown that had some elegant lacy trim around the edges. The gorgeous gown brought out her emerald green eyes, and she simply sparkled with beauty. Her lips were a deep shade of plum, and her chestnut red hair was half up while the rest of it flowed delicately down her shoulders. In her left hand, she was holding her golden mask that all of the girls were given for the ball. The mask itself, covered from the middle of the forehead to just above the lips. It was held up to the face by a slender wand-like handle.

Joey had on a strapless, sapphire-blue gown that had gold lace beautifully embroidered down the front. The royal-blue, silk wrap that slipped eloquently around her shoulders, sat gently on top of the gold strap that laced up the back of her dress. The back of her silky brown hair flowed magnificently down her shoulders, and the front was braided and coiled to form a crown that wrapped like a headband around the rest of her locks. Her eyes were accented by a smoky blue eye shadow to match her gown, and her glossy lips were a soft rose color. She, too, had her golden mask in her hand. Joey absolutely shimmered with beauty. Lily could only shake her head and laugh at the sight of Flam sitting daintily on Joey's shoulder, quite out of place.

"You aren't seriously going to bring the bird with you?" Lily said a bit smugly. Flam gave an indignant hoot at her tone.

"Of course I am!" Joey said with a surprised smile, "You really didn't think I'd leave him up here all by himself, did you?"

Lily just rolled her eyes. "I don't think Amos is going to appreciate seeing you with a big owl on your shoulder."

"Well it might not matter," Joey said, sounding a little annoyed, "he already informed me he didn't think we'd end up as dates." Lily gave her an odd look but just shrugged her shoulders. "Besides," Joey continued, "Flam can be most helpful at times."

The girls carefully descended the stone steps from the dormitories into the common room. There was definitely a party starting up in Gryffindor tower! All of the first through fifth years who weren't able to attend the ball, were making up for it by going wild at their common room party. Some people were in costumes, others were just in their street clothes, but one thing was common amongst everyone: They were all stuffing their faces full of candy and butterbeer. There was loud music being played, and Lily and Joey could barely even hear themselves think, let alone hear each other.

It was just a few minutes before seven when the girls crawled out of the portrait hole and into the stone corridors. They could see many other girls, masks in hand, descending the steps into the great hall. They hurriedly joined them. The excitement was almost too much to handle. Everyone looked breathtaking, but it was quite obvious how Lily and Joey stood out of the crowd in beauty. When they approached the closed doors of the dining hall, Dumbledore was waiting for them outside of it with a twinkling smile on his face.

"Welcome, my dears," he began. "You all, of course, look quite flattering this evening!" This was too much for the impatient ladies to bear. One of the girls in the back spoke out to Dumbledore.

"So, Dumbledore, sir," everyone was looking at her by now, "what do you have planned for us to find our dates?" Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling again.

"I was just getting to that," he said calmly, with still a joyful smile across his face. "Naturally, I thought the best way to do this was . . . by ladies' choice?" he said as he trailed off in his sentence like it was a question. The girls looked around excitedly. "But of course, I had to be sure that ALL of the boys got a date. So, I decided to do this a bit randomly!" All of the girls exchanged looks of horror.

"You mean we won't _really_ get to choose?" one of the girls in the back exclaimed.

"Well, my dear . . . in a manner of speaking, you will get to choose . . . but you may just be a little . . . _unaware_? of who you are choosing." Dumbledore paused for another moment, almost as if he was waiting for anymore questions. Then he continued, "Now, what I have planned is for you ladies to draw a number . . ." more people exchanged shocked looks, " . . . then you will proceed into the dining hall, where you will find your masked, and might I add, hooded, friends. You will barely be able to tell them apart, but I assure you, there are ways of doing so." He paused for another moment to let all of the information settle in.

"The reason for the masks, my dears, is more for the boys' egos than anything else." A humorous smile crept across his face, and it was quite obvious that he was proud of this idea. "I assure you that even the last boy to be chosen will still believe that it was because of the mask that he wasn't picked sooner!" smiles began creeping over everybody's faces by now. "Now, to be sure that my plan does NOT backfire, while the boys are allowed to remove their hoods once they have been chosen, I believe it is only safe to forbid you to dump your date this evening!" The girls giggled lightly at this. They were so eager to get into the dining hall and pick out a guy! "And now . . ." he finished, as he held out a black witch's hat and allowed the girls to each grab a slip of paper out of it, one at a time.

Joey and Lily grabbed their numbers and hurriedly unfolded the pieces of paper.

"I got three!" squealed Lily. "Out of about forty girls, that's got to be pretty good!"

"I got seven!" Joey was so excited she could barely breathe. Was she going to recognize any of the boys? She was so nervous . . . What if she ended up with someone like greasy ol' Snape! Trying hard to not panic about that, Joey headed into the dining hall after Dumbledore and the six girls ahead of her. She could hear some of the girls in the back complaining about how unfair the plan was.

When they entered the dining hall, the girls almost gasped at the sight they saw. The room was strikingly beautiful. The class tables had been removed from the room, only to be replaced by small, circular ones that were scattered about. Delicious looking desserts and snacks sat on them. The center of the enormous ball room was clearly left open for dancing, and flower petals speckled the floor with many dazzling shades of red, yellow, and pink. Golden drapes hung, glittering on the walls, and dimly lit candles were floating everywhere. In the center of the enormous ballroom, sat a huge line of chairs, where a huge line of hooded and silver-masked boys sat. Each of the boys had a different kind flower in their hand, which they were obviously waiting to hand to their future date. The atmosphere caused everyone to be in awe (even the girls who were pissed about going to have to pick last had their mouths hanging open).

When the girls finished flooding into the room, they began carefully scanning the crowd of boys. Some of the boys shifted uncomfortably at the questioning looks some of the girls were giving them. One thing was for certain. You could definitely see each boy's eyes through his mask holes. It was a dead give away for who some of the boys were.

Another hint was definitely the shape of the boys' bodies. Even while they had their robes on, it was still clear whether a boy was fat or skinny, scrawny or broad shouldered. This trick seemed to be quite obvious, since the very first girl, a blond with a stunning red dress and matching scarlet lipstick, seemed to hesitate for a mere second before running over to the most muscular boy in the crowd. The boy stood up, and pulled off his hood and mask. Amos Diggory smiled brightly down at the girl and handed her the crimson rose he was holding with his muscular hand. There were numerous groans that emitted from the line of girls who had been hoping to choose Amos.

Amos looked over at Joey and shrugged, giving her a sheepish smile. She forced a closed smile back at him and nodded slightly. He didn't seem to hesitate for a moment before running off with the polished blonde, however. Joey rolled her eyes. This was to be expected.

The next girl went, and then it was Lily's turn. Joey bit her lip in anticipation, praying that her best friend would choose James. Lily walked slowly down the line of boys, seeming like she was looking deep into each one's eyes. She hesitated when she came to one, rather muscular, boy. He was holding a yellow lily in his left hand, and she leaned in closer to get a better look at his eyes. A flash of sapphire blue was gleaming up at her, and she suddenly knew who she was looking at.

"Would you be so kind as to escort me this evening?" she asked with a small smile. The boy stood up and ripped off his hood and mask. James Potter was smiling down on the lovely Lily Evans, twirling a yellow lily under her nose.

"It'd be an honor," was all he said before the two of them walked off to the side to watch the rest of the pairing. Joey was so thrilled, that she didn't even pay attention to the next three girls in front of her. Before she knew it, it was her turn. She nervously looked around at all of the expecting girls, and was almost surprised to see some of them throw her a dirty look. She looked up and down the enormous row of guys. There were still thirty-four boys waiting to be chosen, and she had no idea how she was going to go about finding one.

For a moment, she was seriously considering just picking one and hoping for the best. But then the random image of her accidentally picking Snape popped into her head, and she decided that it would be best for her to use a little more judgment than that. She walked down the aisle, and tried to do what Lily had done: keep a steady stare into the boys' faces, and one was bound to pop out at her. After the first fifteen boys she passed, however, they all started looking the same to her. She wasn't sure how long she had spent looking for a guy, but she could hear the impatient sighs and huffs from the lined up girls behind her.

'Shit!' she thought angrily to herself. 'there are just too many damn choices!' Just as she realized that even Dumbledore was looking at her a bit impatiently, a brilliant idea popped into her head. She glanced over at Flam who had been falling asleep on her shoulder. Trying to act nonchalant, she took her right index finger and poked the bird, sharply on his side. Giving an enraged 'hoot' at the top of his lungs, the brown and white speckled owl leaped off of Joey's shoulder, flew a ways down the row of boys, and eventually landed on one of their shoulders.

A massive smile was across Joey's face as she ran down the aisle of boys to where Flam was sitting, on a muscular, silvery-eyed boy's shoulder. Joey looked down at the flower in the boy's hand and realized that he had a friendly-looking white and yellow daisy held out in front of him. Joey held out her hand to the gentleman, and he excitedly stood up, yanking his hood and mask off of his handsome face. Sirius Black was looking down into Joey's eyes with a happier smile on his face than he had ever had in his life.

He held the darling daisy up to her and she took it, still smiling brightly and as radiant as ever. "Thanks," she whispered.

"You look . . ." a gasp of air caught in the back of Sirius' throat. He couldn't believe it. Joey's beauty had actually taken his breath away! He continued practically in a whisper ". . . words can't even describe how beautiful you look." The butterflies in Joey's stomach gave a wild flutter. Sirius looked so handsome. And she recognized the look he was giving her. It was the familiar look of desire and torture. He obviously wanted to be closer to her than they both knew was allowable . . . there was a rather large barrier in the way, and its name was Amos. Joey turned away from his penetrating gaze, grabbed his hand, and led him over to where Lily and James were standing. The two were still ogling at each other, and Joey and Sirius exchanged looks at the sight of them.

"Well, hello!" James said when he noticed Joey and Sirius were standing next to them. "It's good to see you two made it out together!"

"And you!" Joey laughed.

"Yes, well, I think I have Sirius and Remus to thank for that!" James admitted. "They were the ones who suggested the yellow lily . . ." he trailed off with a shy smile at Lily who was blushing slightly.

"And your hair!" laughed Joey. "It looks so . . . brushed!"

"Yup!" said James proudly. "It's another one of my little surprises that I brought with me!"

"Oh, that reminds me, Joey!" Lily said with a start, "Good thinking with Flam! You're right . . . he can be helpful at times!" Flam gave a joyful hoot at the sound of his name.

"Yes, well Sirius made sure he was holding a daisy as well, you know," James chimed in. "He said Joey would understand . . ." he trailed off with a laugh, "whatever that means!"

Joey looked over at Sirius, but he wasn't looking at her. He seemed to be frantically trying to find something _else_ to look at in order to avoid making eye contact with her. Joey smiled to herself when she realized this. Sirius obviously had planned to want to be her date from the beginning.

Not much time went by before both Remus and Peter had dates as well. Remus ended up being with a delightful looking sixth year named Laura, who had dirty blond hair just like Remus, and jade green eyes. Peter ended up with (who other than?) Suzy Pudgiegutt. They really did actually make a cute couple. Both of them were pretty chubby around the middle, and their very light brown hair matched almost perfectly together.

When the pairing had finally finished, the group of eight wandered over to the dessert tables and began munching, talking, and dancing as the wonderful ball continued.

Please Review! love, SJ


	13. Follow Me

_"The hottest love has the coldest end."  
_-Socrates

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The group of friends had been standing around talking, laughing, and eating for a little while, when one of Lily's favorite slow songs came on. She squealed loudly, causing a very surprised James to drop his chocolate cookie. James was just about to retrieve it, but Lily grabbed his arm and dragged him out to the dance floor before he got the chance. Exchanging glances and laughing, Joey and Sirius quickly ditched the drinks and cookies that they were holding onto a near by table with Flam, and ran out onto the dance floor with Lily and James.

They got out to the middle of the floor, somewhere near where their friends were. Sirius stood just a couple inches taller than Joey did, now that she had her heels on. They faced each other, and Joey took a step closer to Sirius as her brilliant jade-blue eyes pierced through his silvery-grey ones. He gulped audibly, but luckily no one could hear it, considering the music was loud enough to mask it.

At first, they both were wondering if it would be a little awkward to have to get so close in such a couple sort of way. They both knew it shouldn't seem weird, considering they had hugged each other a thousand times before this, but now it just seemed . . . different. After all, they were out on the dance floor with a bunch of other couples that were practically making out while dancing.

Taking a deep breath, Joey looked down to be sure she didn't step on his toes, and took another step closer to put her smooth arms around his neck. When she looked back up into his face, however, their noses were practically touching and she could feel his sweet breath brush across her moist lips. She tried to silently breathe out the scent, but her heart was beating so fast that it came out more like a giant sigh in Sirius' ear. Sirius could feel his ears and neck burning up. His mind was reeling.

Joey laid her head down at the base of his neck. She closed her eyes as they began swaying as one to the music. The candles floating above them seemed to illuminate the enchanted ceiling (which was dark and ominous due to the rain that was still going on out side), but it had an odd effect on it because it caused the room to feel very warm and inviting rather than gloomy and overcast. Breathing deeply, she could smell his crisp, signature scent. It filled her lungs, and her heart fluttered from the enticing smell. The dancing, the music, and the warmth was extraordinarily calming. She was so relaxed, she felt as though she could fall asleep.

Sirius, on the other hand, was no where near about to fall asleep. He was trying so hard to focus on getting his erratic heart beat back to a normal rate, but his adrenaline was pumping so quickly, that he found it hard to even concentrate. And to say the least, the gentle breathing in and out from the beauty lying on his neck was NOT helping at all.

The song was over by the time Sirius had relaxed, but Joey hadn't even noticed. She still had her head burrowed into the base of his neck, and she was closer to being asleep than she was awake. Sirius and Joey just stood there, in the middle of the dance floor with her head resting on him, as a quicker song came on. Sirius didn't know what to do. He desperately didn't want her to take her head off his shoulder, but they _were_ standing in the middle of a dance floor where people were now starting to wildly get their groove on. He started stroking the back of her hair gently to get her attention to perk up a bit. Her silky hair felt so good against his fingers, and he really found himself wishing that he was the guy who could always hold and touch her like this. She eventually pulled her head away from him and looked up into his face with a sweet smile.

"That was nice," she said, still sounding a little drowsy. Sirius relaxed and just nodded at her comment. It was obvious that she had no idea how restless he became when he held her like that. It was just too close for him to hold her without being able to actually know that it was alright for him to enjoy it.

They wandered back over to the table where they left their stuff and Flam, who had now begun pigging out on all of the little tea cookies that had been left with him. Joey had found herself glancing around the great hall to see if she could spot where Amos and that slutty little Barbie look-alike' had run off to . . . not that she was harboring bad feelings towards them or anything. The problem was that she didn't see them around anywhere . . .

'No,' she tried to convince herself. 'they're around here somewhere . . . they've _got_ to be . . .' She did her best to dismiss the idea. They MUST have been in the crowd of people dancing somewhere, and she just couldn't see them because . . . the lighting was so bad . . . Surely, that was the reason.

When Peter and the boisterous Suzy Pudgiegutt approached them, Joey was both grateful and relieved that she could take her mind away from the panicked thoughts. She was really enjoying herself in the conversation she was having with the others. Suddenly, Remus and Laura trotted off the dance floor and joined them, too, while they began drinking heartily from big glasses of pumpkin juice. It turned out that Peter, Suzy, and Laura were all in the same 'care of magical creatures' class together, because they all started getting into a conversation about it, and Sirius, Joey, and Remus were not following. Suddenly, Remus looked all around him and then turned back to Joey and Sirius.

"So where's Lily and James?" he asked under his breath so that only the two others could hear him. Sirius and Joey exchanged looks of confusion.

"You mean they aren't out on the dance floor!" Sirius practically yelled from excitement. Remus shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

"I didn't see them!" Remus said, practically jumping up and down. Then his face looked very gossipy and interested. "So where do you think they are?" he said with almost a suggestive tone. Sirius and Joey exchanged excited looks again.

"Well, come on! Let's go try to find them!" Joey said with a squeal of delight. This was working out better than they had planned. The three of them started leaving the other group of friends and heading over towards the dining hall's door, when Remus stopped.

"I can't leave Laura here!" he said trying to keep his voice down so she couldn't hear.

"Alright, mate," Sirius said with a quick pat on his arm. "We'll find out the details and fill you in on them later!" Remus nodded reluctantly and went back to his place by Laura's side. Sirius nodded at Joey and they continued on their way out the door, trying to keep unnoticed by everyone.

They reached the door, and slid through it into the silent great hall. The contrast of the hushed corridor they were now standing in contrasted greatly with the deafeningly loud music that was being played in the dining hall. They were having a little bit of trouble hearing each other whisper the plan.

"I think we should check the closets and then the old classrooms first," Sirius barely voiced.

"WHAT!" Joey bellowed through the echoing great hall. The deafening effects from the loud music hadn't quite worn off yet, and she was still having a hard time even hearing herself talk.

"SHHHHHHH!" Sirius practically snapped back as he broke into laughter. Here they were, making a huge effort to be silent, and neither one of them could hear each other properly. His contagious laughter got Joey into a fit of giggles, and they proceeded down the hallway doing their best to keep their talking to a minimum and their laughter stifled.

They finally came across two doors that were across the hall from each other. One was a broom closet, and the other was an old classroom. Now that their hearing had come back for the most part, they could pretty easily hear each other whisper.

"I'll take this door, you take that one," Sirius spoke softly. Joey nodded, and they both crept up to their doors. In Unison, they each put an ear up to their doors, and both had to immediately put their hands to their mouths to keep themselves from laughing.

"There's a couple in here!" Joey barely voiced to Sirius as she crouched down in her dress.

"There's one in here, too!" he whispered with a smothered laugh.

"How do we know which one's them?" Joey asked with an excited pitch in her voice.

"Peek into the window!" he laughed as he gestured towards the little window that sat three-quarters of the way up on the door.

"You want me to PEEK at them!" she said with an almost shocked look on her face. Sirius gave a guilty looking smile and just shrugged his shoulders.

"Why not?" he asked with a laugh. "They'd never know . . ." Joey rolled her eyes, but the amused smile that was across her face never wavered. They both stood up slowly at the same time. Joey slowly peeked over the edge of the window and peered inside. She almost felt sick with herself because of what she was doing. This was wrong, wrong, very, _very_ _wrong_! She couldn't help it though! There was way too much curiosity . . . and besides, Lily and James were two of her best friends. That had to have made it okay . . . right!

It was pretty dark inside the closet, but Joey could make out two figures necking in the shadows. She tried desperately to oppress her laughter, but she was shaking all over. Trying to look closer, she could kind of see a . . . red-head . . . who was wearing . . . a jade-green gown with elegant lacy trim around the edges! Omigod, Omigod! Lily and James were snogging in that very broom closet, and Joey was watching them!

She was almost crying from excitement when she flung herself around. Leaning up against the door, she slid down it into a crumpled up position, snorting with laughter. Joey couldn't get a hold of herself while she was desperately trying to smother her laughter. When she was almost composed, she tried to call over to Sirius who was still standing across the corridor from her, leaning up with his back against the door he had peeked into.

"Sirius!" she tried to whisper and get his attention. Getting an even better control over her giggling, she decided that Sirius hadn't heard her. Maybe his ears were still a little screwy from the noisy ball they had just left . . . Joey picked herself up off the floor, careful not to tear her gown, and tiptoed over to where Sirius was leaning up against the wall. "Sirius?" she whispered with an uncertain tone in her voice. Suddenly she noticed his face was looking rather pale and grave . . . almost like he was deeply pondering something. "Sirius . . . what's the matter?"

He didn't answer; just stared straight ahead of him. Now he was really scaring her. She reached over and placed her hand on his shoulder. It was almost like he was startled back to consciousness when she placed her hand on his arm. He looked over at her and just stared. He had a look across his face that made it look like he was about to start crying. This was too much for Joey to handle.

"Is it something you saw?" she asked a little bewildered. When she didn't get an answer besides the extremely horrified look that was coming across Sirius' face, she continued "here . . . let me see. That way I-"

"NO!" Sirius practically screamed at her. Realizing the suspiciousness of his actions, he quickly tried to recover. "I mean . . . no, I don't think that's a good idea," he finished in a tone that obviously revealed his forceful calmness.

"Sirius, let me see what's in there!"

"How about I just tell you, and that way you won't have to look . . ." Sirius was almost pleading with her now.

"No, because I won't believe you. You'll lie to me . . . I know you will, just out of sheer effort to protect me." With that, she tried leaning around Sirius to get a peek into the tiny window. Sirius pressed his back up against the little porthole so that it was impossible to see around him.

"Fine!" she said, "I guess I'll just have to go back to the dance and find another date who's not going to act so immature!" Sirius looked hurt, but he still refused to budge from the door.

"Please, Joey . . . I'm begging you to not look into this room . . . let's just talk about it . . . later. Please!"

"Sirius, you know this can go on all night . . . and by then I'm sure the couple in that room will be good and sick of each other, and they'll end up wandering out anyways!" Sirius shook his head adamantly. Joey was confused. What was wrong with him? Was he purposely just trying to get a rise out of her? This was just too much for her to handle. She reached behind Sirius and grabbed a hold of the door knob.

"Joey! This is a mistake! You don't want to do this!" Joey ignored him, twisted the handle and jerked. The door didn't budge. Sirius had thrown all of his weight against the door, and now it was refusing to move in the slightest. Joey moved onto plan 'B.' She began shoving wildly at the side of Sirius to try and get him to budge. The two began struggling, and in a whirl of excitement, the two flung back, yanking the door open with them, and giving the people inside quite a surprise. Joey looked up from the spot that she had landed in the fall, and glanced over at the couple in the room.

An ice-cold chill ran all the way down her spine from what she saw. There, in the darkness that had been shattered with light from the intensely bright corridor, stood two figures standing in their underwear; clothes strewn across the floor. Amongst the clothing was a stunning red dress and a crimson red rose. Joey looked up at the two half-naked people who stood in front of her. Amos Diggory had a very shocked look across his face that did not go well with the red lipstick that was smeared across it, and his torso, as well.

Joey could feel a boiling heat rise from the pit of her stomach all the way up to her ears and neck. The burning soon spread into the back of her throat, and all the way up to her eyes. Her eyes had hot tears welling up in them, and she knew in her brain that she _needed_ to get out of there before she started crying. She practically sprung off the floor into a standing position, where she began sprinting away from what she had just seen. The heels she was wearing were not helping her run, so she just kicked them off and darted out into the great hall. Her mind was racing, and the only thing she could think to do was to get _away_ from people.

Now bursting with anger and grief, she made a quick dash for the front door of the school, and went flying out into the cold, stormy, wet of the night. She was so frantic, she didn't even hear Sirius yelling and racing after her as she fled into the bitter cold of the violent downpour.

Thanks to all of you who take the time to review! much love, SJ


	14. Found in the Rain

_"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous."  
_-Ingrid Bergman

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The rain immediately began soaking through Joey's ball gown. She could feel the slippery mud squish under her bare feet and in between her toes as she ran. She couldn't care less. There was only one thing on her mind at the moment:_ get away from everyone_. She was crying so hard by now, that she was having trouble breathing. The harsh, freezing cold wind was beating against her wet skin, and she began feeling very alone. She stopped running when she came to a tree. There was no sign of lightning now, only a heavy downpour, so she decided to take shelter under its vast canopy of branches.

She was still hyperventilating from the crying when she leaned up against the tree's trunk and slid her back down it, into a squatting position. She rested her elbows on her knees, and just cried bitterly into her hands. Her hair was soaked through, and her braids had fallen out. They now dangled limply in front of her make-up smeared face.

She had so much to think about . . . so much to feel sorry for herself about. But she didn't feel sorry for herself. In fact, she blamed herself. How could she have _ever_ forgiven Amos for hurting her in the first place? This never would have happened if she had just listened to Sirius. Sirius knew all along that Amos was going to hurt her, and yet he allowed her to carry on in dating him. How could he have done this to her! She cried even harder in spite of herself. Men were not to be trusted. An entire race that just followed their hormones before anything else! She would never let her barrier down again.

Suddenly, through the deafening roar of the heavy rainfall all around her, she could hear the fallen brush crunch to the side of the tree she was leaning against. Someone was approaching. It was Sirius. She kept her face in her arms, desperately trying to cease her crying. It was impossible . . . the tears were coming to quickly now. He stepped cautiously over to her, like he were approaching a wild animal.

"Joe?" he whispered loud enough so it was audible over the heavy pattering of rain. "Joey . . . oh sweetie, I am so sorry. I-"

"Go ahead and say it!" Joey cut him off flatly. "I should have listened to you."

"What?" Sirius sounded hurt and confused. "No, Joey I would never s-"

"But you know it's true!" She snapped back as she stood up. She wiped the tears from her face and was now glaring into Sirius' stunned expression. "Why should I have _ever_ trusted that creep! You knew all along that he would end up hurting me . . . I knew all along that he would!"

"Joey . . ." Sirius' was trying to sound understanding.

"Don't try to disagree! We both knew that he would eventually do this! He couldn't change! I never should have thought he loved me . . . it was a complete lie!" the tears were beginning to stream down Joey's face again. She tried to wipe them away, but she just ended up making it worse by smearing the makeup that was all running down her cheeks. She let out a loud, angry sob. "I hate men! You're all full of shit!"

"Joey! Would you just listen to yourself!" Sirius was sounding a little exasperated. "You're making such wild generalizations! That's ridiculous! Amos is just one guy!"

"What!" she practically screamed at him as a fresh batch of tears fell from her eyes.

"Why does it matter! I'll never be able to trust another man again! They're all the same . . . all cheating, lying, sex-driven jerks!"

"Now that's not fair," Sirius said with a surprisingly calm voice.

"Not fair? Not _fair_! _What the hell do you consider fair, Sirius_?" she sobbed. "I never did anything to hurt anyone! Look at me! Do I deserve this! I shouldn't be so open and trusting! I need to put up walls to block myself from everything. . . from everyone!" Sirius took a step closer to her, trying to reach out to her.

"No, Joey," he practically whispered. "Please don't put up a barrier around yourself, away from everyone . . . away from me . . ." Sirius' cool grey eyes were pleading with her.

"I can't love you, Sirius . . ." she spoke softly. "My heart is too broken right now . . ." Sirius' eyes showed all of the suffering he was going through. He turned away from Joey. He couldn't look her in the eyes when he said what he was about to say.

"Joey, you think you're the only person who's ever felt the agony in love?" Joey was surprised at the firmness of his previously soothing voice. "Let me tell you my thoughts on love. For the past many months, I've been watching this girl I love _torment_ herself, thinking she isn't good enough for some jerk she's dating. Yes, I say torment. This girl is the most intelligent and beautiful person I've ever met, and yet she continues to put up with this horrible boyfriend. And that's not even the saddest part . . . the saddest part is that she actually blames _herself_ for the way that stupid prick hurts her!" Sirius turned around to look back into Joey's teary eyes. "Joey, I can't even describe the pain I feel every single time I watch that jerk hold the girl I love . . . and yet it's because I love her so, that I hate myself more and more for every passing day that I don't tell her how I feel."

Joey stared up into his face. She could feel her heart creep up into her throat. She was more confused and emotionally unstable now than she had felt all evening. It was too much for her to handle at the moment. She wanted to run again, but her feet refused to budge. "How can you possibly know what love is?" she murmured. "We are too young to say we are in love . . . people get hurt that way."

Sirius grasped both of her shoulders and pulled Joey closer to him so that he was looking directly down into her face. His soggy, mud-streaked hair was dripping down onto her tear-stained cheeks. His voice was back to a soothing whisper when he spoke.

"If I know what love is, it's because I've known you for the past seven years of my life. I can't even explain why I love you . . . I simply do because I can't help it. Joey, I haven't been able to think much about anything lately without thinking about you . . . I see you in every passing face . . . I day dream about you when you're away . . . I find myself wondering if you ever even think about me in the same way. It's like I have a disease that I can't and don't want to get over! I don't even think words can describe how I feel about you . . .," he paused for a moment to get a hold of himself. He let go of her arms and took a step back. He was beginning to feel very overwhelmed. He ran both hands through his hair and smoothed back the water that was collecting in it. "Joey, I've never known anyone before you whose own happiness was vital for my own."

"Sirius-"

"Don't you get it?" he pleaded as he grasped her shoulders again, "I don't just love you for who you are, but for who I am when we're together."

Joey backed away from his grasp and looked down at the mucky ground beneath her toes. She was trying desperately to not look him in the eye as she contemplated over what he had just said. Her saturated hair fell in front of her eyes. Backing up, she found the tree behind her and leaned up against it, just like she had before. She could feel all of the dry, salty tears that covered her face. With her eyes still on the ground, she noticed that Sirius had taken a step closer to her, so that he was now directly in front of her. She felt his hand come up and brush the hair out of her eyes and tuck it behind her ear. Instead of moving his hand away, he cradled her chin and tried to lift it up so that she was looking back into his eyes. As she looked up into his face, she tried to speak, "Sirius, I-"

In one swift motion, Sirius moved his face in and gently pressed his warm lips up to hers. She closed her eyes tightly, and felt another tear roll down her face and drip off the side of her chin. She found herself leaning into him as she pushed herself away from the tree, and wrapped both of her shaking arms around his neck. Sirius' free arm moved around her waist and put a light pressure on the base of her back as he lovingly pulled her into him. She let out a deep sigh, and Sirius slowly pulled away from her. She stared up into his eyes that were now gleaming in the moon light, and she could see a pleading look on his face.

"Sirius . . . deep down, I've loved you since the day I've met you," she breathed out. "I just don't want to be hurt again . . ."

Sirius leaned down and kissed her affectionately on the top of her head. Still breathing a little heavily from the burst of emotion just a few moments before, he said, "I will never _ever_ hurt you, Joey. You're my best friend . . . I promise that you will always be able trust me." She wrapped her exhausted arms around his waist and laid her head down on his chest. She felt more secure there, wrapped in his arms in the middle of a thunderstorm, than anywhere else she could think of.

"I know," she muttered as she closed her eyes and breathed him in.

Thank you for making my day with a review! Love, SJ


	15. Out of the Cold

_"A fool in love makes no sense to me. I only think you are a fool if you do not love."_

_-Anonymous _

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Joey and Sirius just stood there. Both relieved about what had finally been said; both eager for the future that lay ahead. Suddenly, a quick flash of lightning shot across the unwelcoming sky, and an earsplitting clap of thunder roared through the area. Joey found herself clinging to Sirius even tighter as the rain poured down even heavier.

"We should probably head back!" Sirius had to yell over the storm.

"I think that's a good plan!" Joey shouted back with a slight tone of sarcasm.

Together, they sprinted through the heavy rain back up towards the castle. Joey was still barefoot, and when she tried sprinting through the mud, she slipped and fell. The muck smeared up the side of her dress, and the elegant blue that it once was, was now a brown, speckled mess. In one swift movement, Sirius scooped Joey off her feet and continued running, with her cradled in his arms, up the stone steps and into the school.

Sirius gently dropped Joey to her feet once they were in the comfortable warmth of the great hall. They both just looked over at one another, each with waterlogged hair dripping in front of their soggy smiles.

"Well, my dear, Sirius laughed with a tone of exhaustion in his voice. You certainly look like a lovely princess. . ."

"And you my lovely prince . . ." they just looked at each other and started cracking up.

Joey's feet were bare and horribly muddy, to say the least; her hair was in a terrible disarray, and her dress, which had once been a shimmering blue, was now covered in muck from her right side down.

"So much for going back to the party. . ." Sirius sighed with a caring smile across his face.

"Well, I guess we better go get into some dry clothes before we freeze to death. I know I'm already starting to feel a little chilled . . ."

The two climbed up the stairs together and down the stone corridor to the Gryffindor tower. They gave the password and climbed through the portrait hole into a very noisy common room. It was quite obvious that the Halloween bash going on in the Gryffindor house was no where near ready to stop. Joey groaned loudly. She was so exhausted, both physically and mentally. 'Guess there is no chance in getting any sleep,' she thought bitterly to herself.

Suddenly, Joey gasped and turned to Sirius. "Omigod, Sirius! We left Flam downstairs in the dining hall. He's still sitting at the table with all that food!"

"It's alright, Joey. I think he can fend for himself until morning. If anyone tries to mess with him, I think they'll come away from the fight with a lot more injuries than our feathery little friend!"

"That's not exactly what I was worried about. Flam doesnt exactly know how to . . . how should I say it . . . stop. He'll keep eating until food starts coming out of his ears . . ."

"Do birds even have ears?" he laughed, as he pictured Flam stuffing himself full of little tea cookies.

"Sirius. . ." Joey protested.

"Oh, Alright," he conceded. "I'll go down and get him. Mean time, you go upstairs and put on something dry." He gave her a quick smile, turned around, and headed back out the portrait hole.

It wasn't long before Sirius reached the closed doors of the dining hall. He could still hear the booming music through the walls, and he slowly pulled the heavy door open and slid into the dim lighting of the ball room. Looking around, he noticed how no one at the ball seemed very aware of his presence. He looked out onto the dance floor, and could see Remus having the time of his life while getting his groove on with his date, Laura. Near by, he could see Peter and Suzy dancing just as wildly. Shaking his head and laughing, he took advantage of the situation, and quickly darted over to the dessert tables where Joey had left Flam.

When he finally reached the table, he had to keep himself from busting up laughing from the sight he saw. Flam was still joyously munching on all the cookies at the dessert table. Rolling his eyes, Sirius grabbed the bird off a rather large, half pecked at, tray of pecan cookies.

"Alright, you glutton! I think you've had enough," Sirius laughed at the bird. Flam had developed a rather obvious belly that sat roundly at his middle. "Don't you know when enough is enough?" Flam gave a rather rueful hoot and displayed a look that said he was grateful Sirius came when he did. "Come on, friend. lets get you back up to the common room!"

While Sirius was getting Flam, Joey trudged up the stone steps towards her dorm room. All she wanted now was a hot shower, some comfy clothes, and a nice, warm bed to sleep in.

When she arrived at her door, she reached out and turned the knob. However, it refused to budge. That was odd . . . the dorm room could only be locked from the inside. Curiously, she leaned her head in towards the door and pressed her ear up against the cool wood. Quickly, she whipped her head away from the door in surprise at what she heard.

If she had not been mistaken, there was only one conclusion she could have made by the noises emitting from the room. Obviously, there were two people in the room having a little . . . how should she put it? . . . post-party fun. It was quite obvious that they didn't want to be disturbed . . . that is, judging by the moaning and slobbering noises that were echoing through the door. To say the least, she was very sure, that no matter how wet and tired she was feeling, there was nothing that could get her to want to go in and witness what was going on in that room! Exhaustedly, she turned around and traipsed back down the stairs.

Sinking back into the crowd of the crazy, partying Gryffindor students, Joey made her way back towards the portrait hole. She didn't know where else to go. There was no way for her to curl up on the common rooms couch because there were three fifth years, drunken off butterbeer, dancing like mad men on the soft red cushions. Maybe she could go back down in the Dining hall and curl up on one of the hard, metal chairs that were scattered around the dessert tables. They certainly wouldn't be comfortable, but it _would_ be a place to rest . . .

Suddenly, just as she approached the exit of the common room, Sirius climbed through the portrait hole into it. He saw her, still covered in her wet ballroom attire, and hastily walked over by her side.

"You didn't suddenly decide that those clothes were comfortable, did you?" he enquired with a laugh.

"No, no. There were some people who locked themselves into my dormitory so they could get better acquainted . . ." she trailed off with a slightly amused tone.

"Well, let's hope they're not on _your _bed!" he laughed. Joey feigned and irritated look.

"Well, it doesn't look like any of the parties are going to calm down any time soon," Sirius finally said. "You can come up to my dorm and get dried and warmed up."

"Thanks, that'd be nice." The two of them climbed the stone stairs up towards the empty dormitory room.

"Oh! And look what I found at the bottom of the stair case in the great hall!" he said, stifling a laugh, as he held up the pair of blue heels that Joey had kicked off before running out of the castle. She took them from Sirius and gave him a gratifying smile. Sirius flipped the light on in the dormitory, and walked straight over to the bathroom. Flam flew over to the bed and curled up on the headboard.

"You can take a shower if you'd like. It'll warm you up." He walked out of the bathroom and handed her a warm, dry towel.

"Thanks," she said with an exhausted smile. She really wished she could've said more to him to show how grateful she was. She hesitated for a moment, but then took a step closer to him so that she was practically stepping on his toes. In one fluid motion, she put her arms around his neck and lightly pressed her lips to his. She pulled away after just a moment, and looked into his eyes. They were two silvery rings gleaming eagerly back at her.

A smile crept over her face, as she went in again and pressed her mouth to his with a little more force. He wrapped his warm arms around her and drew her closer to him. She could feel his smooth tongue gently draw apart her lips and slowly begin tracing little circles around the tip of her tongue. He exhaled slowly as he moved his hands to her waist and backed her up a few steps until she was pressed up to the closed dormitory door that was behind her. Joey let out a deep sigh as she gently pursed her lips together and began sucking lightly on his bottom lip.

Suddenly, a very loud and irate hoot came from the other side of the room. They both jumped, and Sirius reluctantly drew back. They both looked over at Flam, who was now glaring at Sirius from behind a ton of ruffled-up, irritated feathers. Doing his best to suppress a laugh, Sirius gently turned his head back to a different angle and began kissing the side of Joeys jaw and down her neck.

He lifted his head to her ear and whispered, "You're still all wet and muddy. I suggest you go warm up."

"I think I'm already warmed up . . ." she whispered right back in his ear. She didn't want to leave. . . however, she was extremely uncomfortable in the outfit she was still in. "But I could use some clean clothes." He pulled away and looked down at her with a bewildered and almost surprised look.

"Oh . . ." he was no longer whispering, and his voice sounded a little shaky. "Well, I guess . . . yeah . . . I've got some dry clothes that you . . . you could borrow," he finally managed to stutter out.

"That'd be most appreciated," she laughed as she looked down at the soggy mess that she was still wearing. He began rummaging through his trunk for something suitable for her condition. Suddenly a thought popped into his head, so he stopped digging, stood up and looked nervously into her face.

"You're soaked . . . all the way through?" he asked with a hint of uncertainty.

"Yes, I'm soaked all the way through," she said with almost a mimicking tone. She realized the uncomfortable situation that Sirius had thought of. He was quite aware that she was not about to put her wet, soggy underwear on underneath the dry clothes she was about to borrow. The idea of how this made Sirius sound a bit panicky made Joey want to burst with laughter.

Sirius ears began burning with embarrassment as he noticed the smile creeping over her face. He suddenly became very aware of the tone he had used when he said the word all. He began hoping that it didn't sound _too_ obvious that his voice had wavered at the thought of her wearing nothing under a pair of his very own boxers that he was about to lend to her. He gave her a quick smile, and then shoved the clothes into her arms. He proceeded to rummage through his trunk, simply acting like he was looking for something, just so he could avoid the embarrassment of her seeing him blush.

An evil little smile crept up the right side of Joey's cheek. This boy was too easy to fluster. Turning around and away from him, she gave a fake, impatient little groan.

"Darn it!" She whined as she kept her eyes focusing straight in front of her, away from Sirius gaze. "This bloody knot! It's all wet, and now I can't get it untied." Joey had to stifle a laugh when she heard Sirius suddenly stop rummaging in his trunk. He had obviously realized that she was referring to the knot that was lacing up the back of her dress. "How am I supposed to take a shower when I can't even get my dress off! Sirius . . . would you untie me?" she was now desperately hoping that he hadn't noticed the muffled giggle that she was trying to hide when she spoke.

"Uhhh . . . sure," he croaked as his nervous, fumbling fingers did their best to untie the back of her dress. There was so much adrenaline running through his system that he could barely see straight. Stupid female clothing and all its confusing clasps and ties! His heart was beating so heavily against the inside of his chest, he was having trouble even breathing!

When he had finally gotten the knot undone, Joey turned around while holding up the front of her dress with her hands. "Thanks!" she said, flashing him a sweet smile and a wink. She hurriedly whipped around, the borrowed clothes and towel still tucked under her arm, and marched off into the bathroom. She practically slammed the door shut in a hurry, and then fell to the floor in a desperately-silent fit of laughter.

Sirius, still in his still soaking wet clothes, fell back on a chair in his room. He leaned his head back on the top of the chair and just closed his eyes. He sighed deeply as his pulse rate began coming back to normal. Flam came flying over and landed on his shoulder. The bird still seemed a little huffy from seeing Sirius kissing Joey, but now he wanted some attention. A smile rolled over Sirius face as he began stroking the bird, and he just started laughing to himself. _Girls_!

Please review! love, SJ


	16. Getting Better Acquainted

_"Nobody is perfect until you fall in love with them"_

-unknown

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Still chuckling to herself, Joey walked over and turned on the shower's hot water . She slipped off her dirty, wet dress and slid under the warm spray. The water felt so good on her skin, and she began washing the mud out of her dirty hair. Looking around through all of the hot steam that built up in the shower, she tried to find a bottle of shampoo.

She finally found one sitting on the bath ledge. Oddly, it was clearly labeled SIRIUS on the side of it. Giggling to herself at the randomness of having a name printed on the side of a shampoo bottle, she flipped open the lid and just breathed in the delicious scent. It was no wonder Sirius smelled so good. His shampoo was heavenly. She lathered the smooth foam through her hair and just inhaled the wonderful aroma.

In the mean time, Sirius was patiently twiddling his thumbs out in the dormitory. He couldn't lie down on his bed because he was still soaking wet, so he remained sitting in the hard chair. Never the less, there was still an enormous smile plastered across his face. He was wet, muddy, and grimy; but the most beautiful and wonderful person he had ever loved, he now knew, loved him right back. In fact, he had just been kissing her a few moments before! All this information finally began soaking into his brain. Life was finally going the way he wanted it.

Suddenly, Sirius train of thought was interrupted when a burst of footsteps could be heard running up the stone dormitory steps, just outside the door. Sirius pulse shot up. He was desperately hoping that the person wouldn't come into his dorm room and see that Joey was in the shower and he was soaking wet and still in his ball robes . . . what conclusion could they make! Especially if it was one of the marauders . . . their first conclusion would always be the most suggestive one.

It was just the luck when James Potter came bursting through the doorway, all out of breath. He was actually a rather hilarious sight to see. His robes were practically hanging off of him . . . almost like he had been in the middle of a struggle. To go along with his lovely robes, his glasses sat crookedly upon his face, and there were the clichéd kiss marks all over his cheeks and neck that resembled a deep shade of plum lipstick. James bustled into the room and walked straight over to his trunk. He began frantically digging through it, when Sirius, who was now on his feet, cleared his throat very loudly to get his attention.

James almost jumped in fright at the noise. He had been so preoccupied, that he didn't even think to look around to see if anyone else was in the room.

"OH! Sirius, what are you doing in here?" James said with a surprised tone. "And why the _hell_ are you all wet?" Sirius gave him half a smile.

"Well, I went for a walk an-"

"In _this_ weather! Are you bloody mad!" James was hysterical.

"No . . ." Sirius said with a minor chuckle. It was kind of hard to take James Potter seriously when his face and neck were covered with kiss marks. "Actually, I happen to enjoy walking in the rain."

"Yeah, whatever, mate. . ." James trailed off, shaking his head, as he turned back around to continue rummaging in his trunk.

"So what are you doing in here?" Sirius enquired.

"Oh . . . well I was just. . . uhhh . . ." James began nervously looking around the room.

"You were just what?"

"I was . . . well, I was just getting some clothes to change into that would perhaps be a little more comfortable . . ."

"So you aren't going back to the ball? Where's Lils?"

"Oh . . . she's still in her room . . . I was just going back there to keep her company . . ." James trailed off again. ". . . I just thought I'd get out of my dress robes first."

Sirius ears perked up to this last statement that James had made. The phrase: 'she's _still_ in her room triggered an idea in his brain. If she was _still_ in her room, and James was planning on just going _back_ there, then that would imply that they both had _already_ been in that room together, just earlier . . . An enormous smile crept over Sirius face. Lily and James were obviously the two people that Joey had overheard getting better acquainted.

All of the sudden, James had found the T-shirt and pair of boxers that he had been looking for, and turned around towards the bathroom so he could go change into it. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the door closed. Suddenly, he became very aware that he could hear the shower running, as well. A very perplexed look came over James Potter's face, and he turned around to look into Sirius' very anxious expression.

"And who might be using our shower at the present moment?" was all he asked. Sirius just stared at him like a deer caught in headlights. If he told him the truth, then James would, of course, go off on a ceaseless, suggestive string of comments. Sirius really didn't want that, so he instead proceeded in stuttering through a lie.

"OH! Yes, well . . . NO ONE, actually . . . yeah . . . no one's in our shower . . . nope . . ." Sirius shook his head adamantly as if that would suddenly make him sound believable.

James just gave him one of those looks that says _you need help_, and then he leaned in and asked, "If no ones in the shower, then why's it on, mate?" Sirius just took a deep breath and tried to speak with a normal tone for a second.

"Well, you know how I like to take steamy showers . . ." His voice was surprisingly calm compared to how he was feeling. "I just thought I'd let the hot water run a little and keep the door shut . . . that way, I thought all the steam would build up in it by the time I was ready to hop in." He said this with an obviously nervous chuckle at the end. He was lying through his teeth, and he was only hoping the James perhaps, if not believe him, maybe take mercy on him and ask no questions.

James just paused for a moment as if trying to take in the information. The slightly dense boy suddenly started nodding a bit like he understood.

"Right," he paused for a moment and chewed on his upper lip. "Well then, I guess I'll just bring these clothes over to Lily's and change over there"

"Okay, mate!"

". . . Goodnight, then! . . . and I hope you enjoy your. . . steamy shower," he trailed off as he walked over towards the door.

"Oh, goodnight . . . And say g'night to Lily for me!" Sirius gave him a friendly smile and a nod. James looked over and returned the smile as he opened the door and walked out.

"I will, mate . . . and you'll say g'night to Joey for me too, then?. . . when she gets out of the shower, of course." Trying his best to stifle a laugh, James gave him a sly wink and shut the door behind him. Sirius just rolled his eyes and fell back into the hard chair he had been sitting in before. What a night.

Joey finally got out of the hot shower, smelling nice, clean, and fresh. She was happy. Despite all of the emotional stress she had gone through that evening, she was just eager to go to sleep . . . it didn't really matter where.

She quickly dried herself off, and grabbed the clothes that Sirius had given her so she could put them on. She put her nose to the clothes and breathed deeply. These smelled like Sirius, too! She liked using his shampoo and wearing his clothes. Now she could just walk around anywhere and still be able to breathe him in.

Examining his fashion decisions, Joey found herself quite thankful to him. Sirius had obviously, judging by the size, picked out his smallest pair of boxers. Joey found herself wondering if it was a pair that had gotten shrunk in the wash or something. It was clearly a pair that would not fit on Sirius' muscular frame.

Sirius had also given her a large grey shirt that was really big on her. She had seen Sirius wear that shirt before. However, recalling on the occasion, she could remember how he filled out the shirt a whole lot better than she was. This thought made her giggle a bit as she looked at herself in the steamy bathroom mirror. Still giggling, she wrapped her hair up in her towel and walked out into the cool dormitory.

"Bathrooms all yours," she said as she walked over and sat down on the bed next to Flam.

"Thanks," he said as he grabbed his night clothes and walked over to the bathroom.

"Oh, I used your shampoo. I hope you don't mind." A large smile grew over Sirius face.

"Oh, no, thats okay . . . you'll just be flea free, I guess!" He started laughing.

"What?" she said with a perplexed look on her face. "What do you mean flea free?"

"Oh . . . well, as Padfoot, I gotta be a little careful about flea control, see . . . so I concocted my own little shampoo-invention. It gives me all the benefits of human shampoo, but also gives me flea-protection." He flashed her a cheesy smile and walked into the bathroom laughing to himself. Joey just shook her head, rolled her eyes, and sat down on the bed with a smile on her face. Sirius was such a goofball sometimes.

Sirius took a much quicker shower than Joey had taken, and he was back out in the dormitory in no time. Joey was lying back on Sirius bed, stroking Flam who was sitting on her stomach, and trying desperately hard to stay awake. However, seeing a wet-haired Sirius walk out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, seemed to wake her up a bit. His dripping hair sat shaggily on top of his head, countless fly-away strands dangling in front of his eyes. He took the towel he was holding in his hands, lifted it to the top of his head and rubbed his hair thoroughly. He pulled the towel away, and his hair was in even more of a disarray.

"Oh, my . . . that's attractive!" Joey laughed with a sarcastic tone, causing Flam to get annoyed by his unstable perch and fly off, landing on the window sill.

"Why thank you, my dear," Sirius said with a funny smile creeping over his face. "I think so too!"

"I bet you do!" She laughed as he rolled onto the bed next to her, tackled her, and pinned her down by rolling onto her. His bare chest was up against her, and she suddenly found herself very mesmerized by his good looks. The thought was quickly erased from her brain as he started tickling her like crazy.

"Oh, but you don't think so, do you?" he laughed as he continued tickling her all over her stomach and neck. Joey started screaming and laughing hysterically. She hated it when Sirius started tickling her . . . she always lost control and couldn't stop laughing. It was her main area of vulnerability.

"Sirius!" she gasped through loud bursts of uncontainable giggles. "Sirius!" She was now snorting and crying all at once.

"What do you say!" he managed to sputter out through wild snickering. She couldn't get a hold of herself. She tried desperately to move, but he was too strong for her, and she was too weak from laughing.

"YOU WIN!" she practically screamed out through tears. Still laughing, Sirius rolled over onto the bed next to her and allowed both of them to catch their breath. The two of them just laid there on the bed next to each other for a few moments. The room was silent besides their stabilizing panting and laughing. When Joey had finally gotten a hold of herself, she looked over at Sirius and spoke.

"You're such a jerk!" she teased, still laughing, as she playfully socked him on the shoulder. Sirius just looked down at his bare, muscular arm where she had punched him.

"Are you trying to say you want more?" he laughed.

"Oh, no you don't!" she said quickly as she tried to get up off the bed before he tackled her again. He was too quick for her. He grabbed her and pinned her down so that the upper half of his body was on top of her. Sirius just looked down into her amused expression. The huge smile on her face reached all the way up to her jade-blue eyes which were glowing with excitement. Sirius was absorbed in her beauty as they just lay there. His eyes had glazed over and a serene smile was plastered across his face. All he wanted to do was just stare into her eyes, and Joey's heart was fluttering like crazy from the look he was giving her.

Please Review! love, SJ


	17. The Surprising Hallway Company

I know what you`re thinking! {PLEASE!!! NOT ANOTHER LONG INTRO!!!} Well, don`t worry, I won`t talk long . . . just wanna say another thanx for all you guys who reviewed. I love hearing your inputs . . . And I`ll see what I can do about making Amos suffer . . . I have a few ideas up my sleeve, and I think they`ll play nicely with the rest of the story left to come! ; } Anywayz, hope you enjoy this chapter! = ]  
  
{The first duty of love - is to listen.}  
Paul Tillich  
  
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Joey and Sirius just stared deep into each other`s eyes as his upper body sat lightly on top of her. Sirius sighed deeply and Joey took a big whiff of his sweet, fresh breath. His face was a mere nose length away from hers. She practically parted her lips waiting for their lips to meet. Sirius, however, didn`t move. In fact, he stayed right where he was as a tiny smile creepy over his face.  
  
{Are you planning on kissing me, or are you just going to torture me?} Joey whispered with an amused tone in her voice. Sirius smiled, but his eyes were serious.  
  
{How can you be my girl?} he whispered. {You take my breath away every time I look into your eyes . . . It`s like . . . we`re lopsided. We`ll walk down the corridor together and people will give us the nick-name beauty and the beast . . .} he was obviously joking, but there was still a hint of seriousness in his voice that made Joey`s heart sink.  
  
{Oh, pulease!} Joey laughed as she pushed Sirius off of her and sat up. {Sirius, you obviously don`t realize how hot you really are.} Sirius raised his eyebrows and gave her a surprised look. {You know you`re really bad at faking it . . . you must know how attractive you are.} Sirius had always thought he was *okay* looking, but hearing Joey describe him as being *hot* surprised him a little. He never really realized that Joey saw him in such a way. (Some guys are just clueless like that!)  
  
{If you say so . . .} he said with playful look that obviously said he understood.  
  
{It`s gotta be the cute puppy dog thing . . .} she teased. {Otherwise, I guess you aren`t THAT good looking.} She gave him another playful push on his sleek torso. Only, she didn`t pull her hand away. She liked the feel of his smooth, hairless, and powerfully built chest. She let her hand slide down his front, past his well defined pectoral muscles and over his softly chiseled abs. Her fingers stopped dangerously close to the waistband of his silky puppy dog boxers (of course). Sirius gave an involuntary shutter at pleasurable sensation of her soft fingers against his bare skin. She made to pull her hand away, but Sirius grabbed her wrist. He pulled her towards him so that their faces were only a few inches apart. Once again, she could feel his warm breath on her lips, and she found herself leaning in for the kiss. Just before their lips got close enough to meet, Sirius interrupted it again:  
  
{You know you can`t resist my cute puppy dog charm,} he teased. Joey tried to resist the urge to smile, but the impulse was too great. It started out as just a little twitch on her bottom lip, but then the smile grew all the way across her face, finally ending with her bursting into laughter . . . Sirius always did know how to ruin the mood.  
  
She fell forward, face planted into Sirius` chest, and just busted up into a fit of giggles. Why was he so freakin` adorable?! Sirius pulled her to him in a hug as she just continued to laugh. She rested her head on his shoulder and kissed the top of his well built arm.  
  
{You`re too damn funny for your own good, ya know . . .} she murmured as she just lied there on his shoulder. She was feeling a little sleepy, now that she thought about it.  
  
{You`re telling me . . .} he said with a laugh. {I think you were about to kiss me, too . . . and look where THAT ended up!} Joey started giggling again. OH, brother!!!  
  
{You know, Sirius . . . for a guy who`s a dog half the time, you really are quite . . . lacking hair.} She said as she pulled out of the comfortable hug and placed her silky fingers back onto his exposed chest.  
  
{Yeah, well . . .} he trailed off for a moment. {Like I explained earlier . . . I kind of have to be careful about fleas . . .} Joey smiled brightly and tried to stifle a laugh as she spoke:  
  
{What a turn-on,} she said sarcastically. Sirius laughed heartily and pulled her into another hug. Joey rested her head on his shoulder and was feeling really tired from the comfortable warmth.  
  
{Joey?} he whispered after a moment, as he noticed that he was now supporting her half-sleeping body.  
  
{hmmmm?} she groaned.  
  
{I think you should go to sleep . . .} he said as he started pulling away from the hug. She was still sitting up-right, but her face showed how she was more asleep than awake.  
  
{mmmhmmm . . .}  
  
{Here, you can sleep in James` bed if you like . . . I doubt he`ll be back tonight. And then you can . . .} he trailed off as Joey automatically folded away the covers of his bed and crawled in. {. . . or there`s the other choice where you can just crash in my bed . . .} he said with a sleepy laugh.  
  
{mmmhmmm . . .} she murmured as she scooted over in the bed so that there was enough room for Sirius to climb in. Sirius just shrugged his shoulders, turned out the light and climbed in. Not like he was going to argue with having a beautiful girl sleep in his bed next to him!  
  
As he slid under the covers next to her, Joey flipped over onto her stomach and rested her head on his bare chest. Smiling warmly, he positioned his arm on her back and tried to go to sleep. It wasn`t long before Joey started whispering to him again.  
  
{Sirius?}  
  
{Hmmm?} he responded sleepily.  
  
{Why did you say that you doubted James would be back tonight?}  
  
{Because he`s in your dorm with Lily . . .} he trailed off in a haze of sleepiness. Surprised, Joey lifted her head off Sirius` chest and looked up through the dark where she assumed his head was (it was too dark to see anything).  
  
{What?!} she practically yelled. {You mean they were the ones I over heard in the dormitory?!}  
  
{Yup,} he said stifling his laugh.  
  
{Omigod . . . ewwww!} she whined. {I over heard Lily and James . . .*shiver* . . . and who knows what they were doing in there!!!} Sirius couldn`t hold in his laughter anymore.  
  
{Oh, I`m sure it`s alright. We can trust James.} Sirius said as he tried to get a hold of his laughing.  
  
{How did you find out it was them?} she asked.  
  
{Because James told me. He came in here while you were in the shower.}  
  
{Why did he come in here?}  
  
{Because he needed a change of clothes.}  
  
{You mean they`re going to spend the night together?!}  
  
{Relax, Joey. I`m sure it`s not what you think . . .} Sirius trailed off. He wasn`t even sure if it was what she was thinking or not . . .  
  
{You`re telling me to relax?! They could be lying in the same bed right now! And you`re telling me to relax!}  
  
{Joey!} Sirius said trying to calm her down. {Look at us!} Joey rolled her eyes in the dark, and reluctantly laid her head back down on his chest.  
  
{Well, this is different . . .} she said smugly.  
  
{Sure it is . . .} Sirius said with a really funny tone. Joey could feel his chest vibrating, and she could tell that he was obviously trying to smother his laughter. A smile crept over Joey`s face too, and she poked him sharply in the side of the ribs.  
  
{Oh, shut up,} she said teasingly. Then she closed her eyes and went back to sleep. Still smiling, Sirius pulled the bed`s draping closed and fell into a deep sleep.  
  
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The next time Joey woke up, it was pitch black and she couldn`t see a thing. What the hell? Where was she? What was she lying on? This didn`t feel like her duvet . . . and this DEFINITELY wasn`t her pillow. Smooth, sleek surface that had the pleasant smell of Sirius . . . oh, wait. This was Sirius. The memories flooded back into her head. `So it wasn`t a dream,` she thought to herself. She laid her head back down onto his chest and snuggled up into the warmth. She closed her eyes and just listened to Sirius` steady passed breathing as he slept.  
  
Suddenly, she realized that their breathing wasn`t the only going on in the room . . . Omigod! Were the other boys back in the room?! Would they see her there? She leaned over Sirius and slid open the drape a tiny bit so she could peak out into the dormitory. What small amount of light that was shining into the dormitory, flooded into the draped off bed where Sirius and Joey were lying. She squinted into the dimly lit dormitory and could see Remus and Peter were in there beds.  
  
While Peter had bothered to close his drapes most of the way, his head was still visible through the part in his drapes from where Joey was lying. Remus on the other hand, hadn`t even bothered with trying to shut his drapes. It looked more like he had just collapsed onto his bed, considering that his dress robes were just lying on the floor, and he was sprawled across his bed, without covers. He was wearing nothing but a pair of moon and star-covered boxers that sat dangerously low on his hips. This was just too much for Joey to bear. If Remus had found out that she saw him like that, he`d probably die of embarrassment. It was just too funny. Joey tried to smother her laughing into the pillow next to Sirius, but she found herself shaking madly with silent-giggles.  
  
Sirius stirred a little and rolled over onto his side so that his back was to Joey. She looked down on his sleeping figure and just smiled admiringly. Sirius looked like such a cutie when he was sleeping. He was her little puppy dog.  
  
She knew it was time to get up and go back to her dorm. She didn`t want any of the other marauders to know she had been sleeping there the whole night. She parted the curtains on her side of the bed so that she could slip out into the dormitory. She flipped open the covers on her side and made to leave the bed. She suddenly felt Sirius wrap his arm around her waist and drag her back into the bed.  
  
{Don`t leave,} he whispered hoarsely into her ear. She smiled and rolled her eyes.  
  
{I hafta go back to my own bed,} she responded. {You don`t want the boys to see that I`ve been sleeping in your bed all night, do you?}  
  
{Oh, who cares what they`ll think,} he moaned. {Don`t leave me . . . I`ll be all cold with out you keeping me warm . . .} he whined.  
  
{Stop making excuses,} she laughed under her breath. {You`re gonna wake up the other guys!}  
  
{Oh, let them wake up,} he smiled as he pulled her down towards him and pushed her lips onto his. Joey kissed him back and then slowly pulled away. She patted him lightly on the chest and brushed a fly-away hair out of his eyes.  
  
{G`nite,} she whispered.  
  
{G`nite . . .}  
  
She slipped off the bed, through the curtains and out into the dimly lit dormitory. The curtains swished shut behind her, and Sirius was out of view. She tiptoed quietly passed the snoring Remus and then around Peter`s bed, all the while trying to suppress her giggles at the site of the two boys. She creaked open the door and glided out into the hallway and down the stairs. There was a peaceful silence out in the common room as she crept through the crowd of students that had decided to crash on the floor. There was an unpleasant stench that floated about the Gryffindor common room, smelling foully of an overdose on candy, too much butterbeer, and the upset stomachs that characteristically went with it. The room was a mess. There were people sprawled on top of each other all over the floor, and empty bottles and bags littered the entire area.  
  
Shaking her head with an appalled expression on her face, she made her way through the room that had just started parting with light from the early dawn-broken morning. She finally reached the stone steps that led up to her room with only tripping on two people.  
  
The cold stone steps of the dormitory hallway gave her a shiver that started at her bare feet and ran all the way up her spine. She found herself wishing that she was back in Sirius` bed, snuggled up against his warm chest. *sigh* The thought of her being able to think of Sirius in such a way without feeling like she was betraying anyone made her feel really happy. A huge grin developed over her rosy cheeks as she bounced up the steps. Suddenly, she was abruptly shaken from her little reverie as a tall, fairly muscular figure crashed into her as it was on its way down the curve of the stairs. Joey found herself loosing her balance as she tried desperately to not fall down the stairs backwards!  
  
The figure, soon realizing what it had crashed into and the problem it had caused, quickly grabbed Joey`s arms and kept her from falling back. Joey let out a frightened scream, and suddenly found her cry being muffled as a warm, semi-callused hand fell flat against her mouth.  
  
{Shhhhhh,} the figure cooed.  
  
{HOLY SHIT, James!} Joey said a little louder than she meant to. {What the HELL do you think you are doing?!} her voice had calmed down and subsided to a harsh whisper. James cradled her into a hug and kept making hushing noises. Joey felt her pulse return to normal just a James` was doing the same. He pulled away, let out a relieved laugh, and said quietly:  
  
{You scared me half to death, Joey.}  
  
{I scared you?!} her voice was beginning to rise again. James bent down and picked up the clothes he had dropped on the floor during the collision. His dress clothes had toppled down a few steps, and Joey found herself helping him pick them up. Joey suddenly realized that James was wearing nothing but a thin pair of stag-decorated boxers. This reminded her of the little thing Sirius had told her about Lily and James *getting together.* Joey suddenly found herself a little curious.  
  
{So what are you doing over in the girls` wing . . .} she interrogated, {wearing nothing but a pair of your lucky prongs-boxers?} There was a definite tone to her voice. James` eyes got wide.  
  
{Well, we were . . . I mean, *I* was just . . . ummmm . . .}  
  
{Keeping Lily busy?} she asked, the tone certainly not wavering in her voice.  
  
{Ummmm . . . yeah, I guess you could say that . . .} he trailed off with a pleadingly innocent grin. Joey just rolled her eyes and shook her head with an amused smile. {Hey!} James laughed as he realized something.  
  
{What?} she asked, puzzled at his tone.  
  
{So what are you doing coming from the boys` wing . . .} he interrogated with a mimicking tone, {wearing nothing but a pair of *Sirius`* lucky boxers and T-shirt?} His voice sounded very triumphant, and he gave her a suggestive smirk.  
  
{Well,} she began as she leaned in towards James like she was about to tell him a juicy secret. James leaned in too, obviously eager to hear what she was about to say. She cupped her hand up to her mouth and barely whispered into his ear, {It`s none of your damn business, now is it!}  
  
James pulled away and laughed. The two guilty parties just smiled and shook their heads at each other. James stuck his hand out for her to shake.  
  
{Well, it was nice NOT seeing you here in the hall,} he said as he gave her a wink and shook her hand. Joey smiled and turned to leave, just as the two of them heard a burst of footsteps come charging up the stairs. They exchanged frightened glances, and both looked to see who their witness was.  
  
They were both surprised to see a half-naked Sirius Black come sprinting up the stair case with a blue, half-muddy, ball gown under one arm, and a pair of bright blue heels in the other. He nearly crashed into the two of them as he came around the curve of the steps.  
  
HAHAHA! I`m cutting it off again because this chapter`s getting too long and I need to go to bed! Don`t you just love it when all of the marauders are in their boxers?! Hehehe! Well . . . I do! Remus with the moon and stars-decorated on his, James with the stags on his, and Sirius with the puppy dogs on his! Hehehehe! Lucky boxers, indeed! Too clever, am I! Hope you like it so far . . . I`ve finally progressed out of Sirius` bedroom, and I hope to continue forward at steady pace now . . . sorta! (insert suggestive smirk . . .) Hope you`ll review! Thanx a bunch! Much luv to all! = ] 


	18. Can't Sleep

Hey! I just want to thank everyone for being really patient with me about the whole *fanfiction is shut down again* thing! That was pretty frustrating to have it go down AGAIN!!!  
  
So I sent chapter 17 out to people, and even though fanfiction was only down for several hours, I think that was a good trial with the whole `e- mailing everybody` thing. I only came across a few problems that I was aware of. I was unable to send the e-mail to: candy1285@aol.com and glitzgurl13939@comcast.net. After signing back onto fanfiction, I realized that the correct e-mail were: candy111285@aol.com and glitzgurl3939@comcast.net If either of these is STILL wrong, I ask that you make me aware of this!!! Maybe I just had the wrong e-mail addresses to begin with, or maybe I`m just retarded like that, and can`t type them in correctly . . . Never the less, I`m really sorry about that to greenfairie and LM, and hope you will forgive my slowness. Hehehe! = p  
  
As for the rest of you inspiring reviewers, if you did not receive an e- mail this time, and would like to get the update the next time fanfiction is down, give me your address in a review, and I`ll do what I can. If I left anyone out, I send you a gazillion apologies and I will mentally slap myself for you! *insert cheesy smile here* In my defense, I have to admit it gets pretty confusing when I`ve got people with multiple e-mail addresses and I forget where I found them and then I get worried that I e- mailed people twice so then I go bonkers and end up taking addresses off the list . . . *sigh* I`ll shut up now and leave it at: SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY! = ]  
  
Just for the record, the next time fanfiction is down, I think I`ll wait a little while longer to see if the site comes back up . . . but I`m not an extremely patient person, so I`ll probably wait a few hours or so . . . = p  
  
Anywayz, onto my next chapter! Much luv to all who review!!!  
- Sara (a.k.a. Sportzjunkie)  
  
{One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life. That word is love.}  
-Sophocles *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
{Omigod!} Sirius yelled out as he smashed flat into the side of James. James caught him by the arm to keep him from falling back.  
  
{Woa, there, Padfoot!} he laughed as he pulled his best friend back onto his flat feet.  
  
{What the hell are you guys doing?!} Sirius laughed at the site of the two friends standing in the middle of the stairway, still in their night clothes.  
  
{I was just . . . and he was just . . . and then we crashed . . . and then you . . .} Joey trailed off into a frustrated huff as the two boys just looked at her with very sleepy and confused looks. James rolled his eyes and decided to clear up the situation.  
  
{Joey was trying to sneak quietly back to her dormitory, while I was trying to sneak quietly out of her dormitory. We crashed, and the rest is history.} James said all of this with a very flat tone. {So what the hell are you doing here?}  
  
{I came to deliver these clothes back to Joey!} Sirius explained. Joey almost burst with laughter at the thought that one of the other marauders could have found it. That would have been a funny site to see in the morning: Remus gets up to go to the toilet, and what does he find? Joey`s half muddied up ball gown draped over the shower curtain! BOY! THAT would have been inconspicuous!!!  
  
{OH, God!} she said aloud. {How could I have forgotten that?!} She took the muddy dress and shoes from Sirius and noticed James eyeballing them with bewilderment. He let out a ridiculous laugh and said:  
  
{Man! What the hell were you guys doing out there?! Mud wrestling?!} Joey gave him a unsociable glance as she tucked the dress under her arm.  
  
{Don`t be ridiculous!} she spat.  
  
{Oh, right . . .} James laughed. {I think you`d have to be topless for that . . .} he sounded very amused with his comment until Joey socked him really hard in the side of the shoulder. Then she turned around and stomped up the rest of the stairs to her dormitory. {OUCH!!!} James yelped as he rubbed the spot of impact. Joey had a mean, right jab.  
  
He looked over at Sirius for some back-up defense. Sirius just shrugged his shoulders and held up his hands to show that he was not getting in between the argument. He then just chuckled to himself and skipped down the rest of the stairs to the common room while James followed. The boys crept back through the crowded room and up the stone steps back to their dormitory. They collapsed back into their beds in hopes to sleep the rest of their Saturday morning away.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Joey crept back into her dormitory quietly, and sank down into her bed. She glanced over at Lily and could hear her friends slow, heavy breathing, that told her she was sound asleep. She obviously hadn`t even realized that James had left. Joey found herself wondering how their relationship was going . . . James and Lily definitely seemed to be `an item` now, but she was a little confused about whether they planned to openly admit it to people yet. This brought Joey`s thoughts back to her and Sirius. She loved Sirius to death, but she wasn`t sure if she really wanted to plainly acknowledge it to people yet. It just seemed a little . . . soon. She had just broken up with Amos, and then she had been single for about ten minutes before she found herself with a boy friend again. She sighed deeply, drew her curtains around her, and closed her eyes.  
  
Joey had tried to go back to sleep, but there was just too many things running through her brain. After tossing and turning for about an hour, she closed her eyes really tightly and just buried her face into her pillow. Maybe if she smothered herself into her cushions, then she`d pass out and be able to actually forget about all her anxiety.  
  
She couldn`t handle it. Frustration took over as she found it would be impossible for her to sleep. She sat up in bed and huffily threw back the curtains to her four poster. If she wasn`t going to be able to sleep, she mightn`t want to just lie in bed and suffer. She needed to get up. So she hopped out of bed and walked over to her trunk. After rummaging through it for a few moments, she yanked out some sweat clothes, a pair of socks, and some running shoes. She hastily changed into them, trying her best to do it without waking anybody up.  
  
Tiptoeing out of her dormitory, she crept back down the stairs out into the common room. Still disgusted at the sight of all the drunk, sleepy students crashed on the floor, she swiftly made her way over to the portrait hole and hopped out.  
  
To her utter dismay, just as she jumped down out into the dimly lit corridor, she tripped on a figure that was sitting up against the wall, just outside the entrance. Joey flew forward and landed squarely; face first, onto the stone floor.  
  
{Omigod! Joey, I am so sorry!} said an extremely familiar voice that Joey knew all too well. The figure began helping her up.  
  
{That makes twice in one morning, James!} she snapped. He grinned at her through the faint light.  
  
{Hey! You crashed into me this time, so I`d say this was not my fault!}  
  
{Well, what the hell kind of brainiac plants themselves right under the entrance to the portrait hole?!} Joey did not sound amused.  
  
{I know . . . I`m sorry,} he sighed. {I couldn`t sleep, so I decided to get out of bed. I went down to the common room, but I couldn`t sit on the occupied couch. There were already a whole bunch of fifth years who had crashed there. And besides, I was debating with myself on whether I wanted to go for a fly . . .} he trailed off as he picked up the broomstick that had been sitting on the floor next to him. James was the seeker for the Gryffindor quidditch team, so he had been practicing a lot with the other players lately. They had always gotten Saturdays and Sundays off, however, and this being a Saturday, was a good time for him to get some leisure flying in.  
  
{Oh,} she responded. {Well I just had noticed that the rain had finally cleared up and was hoping to go for a run . . .} she breathed in slowly, {. . .`ve got a lot on my mind, ya know?}  
  
{Yeah,} he sighed, {you`d never know how much I identify with that statement.} They just nodded at each other in silence for a moment. {Well, you`re welcome to join me down to the quidditch pitch,} he said with a hopeful smile. { . . . have a little spin on the broom?}  
  
{Yeah, alright,} she said a little more cheery. The two friends walked down the hall in silence, when finally James decided to pry a little.  
  
{So you`re having problems, eh?} he asked. Joey heaved a sigh.  
  
{Unfortunately.}  
  
{Is it because Amos cheated on you again?} he nervously gave her a sideways glance, worried that she`d be pissed that he already heard the news.  
  
{Yeah . . . sorta . . .} she mumbled suspiciously. {How did you know he cheated on me?}  
  
{Well, uhhhh . . . Sirius kind of filled me in on it.} He smiled warmly at her and put his hand on her shoulder. {It`s alright, Joey. We`ll all be here for you.}  
  
{Thanks,} she grumbled, {but that`s not my only worries.}  
  
{So what else is up, then?}  
  
{I`m kind of worried about what people will think when they suddenly see Sirius and me together, just after Amos and I broke up. I think it`ll kind of give me a bad image, you know? Kind of where I just move on from guy to guy . . .} she trailed off as she just shook her head sadly. {. . . when it`s not like that at all.}  
  
{Of course it`s not, Joey. Amos was a total prick to hurt you like he did! You deserved a real relationship, and Amos was just not providing it for you! However, Sirius is, and you deserve to take up this opportunity!} he was looking at her with a very serious expression on his face. {Besides, the only opinions that matter are the opinions of the people who are important to you. And you know that anyone who knows you well enough would never think lowly of you . . . ever!} Joey just nodded solemnly.  
  
{But I`m worried about losing respect for myself!} she whimpered.  
  
{If that`s the case, then just ask Sirius to take it slow! He`d be more than happy to keep your relationship on the `down-low,` if that`s what you want. No body has to know your business, but you . . .} he rubbed her arm comfortingly. {. . .and maybe a few of your nosy friends,} he added. A smile cracked across Joey`s face.  
  
{Yeah, you`re right,} she said, quite grateful to him for the encouragement. {Thanks.}  
  
{No, problem!} he laughed.  
  
{So, now you`ve got to tell me what`s getting you!} she said curiously.  
  
{Oh! Well . . . it`s not important,} he gave her a shy smile and then suddenly started acting very interested in the stone wall of the corridor around him.  
  
{Is it about Lily?} she interrogated.  
  
{Well . . . yes and no.}  
  
{You know James; one of the things that I admire most about you is your way of saying things that never leaves anyone in the dark,} she said flatly. A silly smirk crept up the side of James` face.  
  
{What I mean is,} he continued, while giving her an exaggerated, disapproving glance, {I`m worried what might happen to the relationship between Lily and I when the stresses of quidditch really start taking over. I`m practically ripping my hair out right now because of the constant worry I have about this season`s quidditch team, and then I`m also worried that she`ll feel neglected and not want to be with me anymore.}  
  
{Oh, James,} Joey said comfortingly. {I`m sure Lily will understand that you have responsibilities outside of your relationship. Lily has stresses too, you know. She can totally relate!}  
  
{Yeah,} he answered. They had reached the front door of Hogwarts that led to the outside grounds. James held the door opened for Joey and they proceeded out into the cool wet air towards the quidditch pitch. {But, then, even if Lily is okay with it, I still have quidditch to worry about.} He continued.  
  
{What`s wrong with quidditch?}  
  
{Well, you know how the season just started about two weeks ago?}  
  
{mmhhmm}  
  
{Well, we`re down a chaser and a beater, because the two Mercurial brothers moved back to the United States with their family over the summer.} He shook his head sadly, {Now our team is incomplete, and we`ll have to find replacements before our first game against Hufflepuff. . . that gives us two weeks!}  
  
{Wait,} Joey looked confused. {Two weeks? Shouldn`t you guys have started looking for replacements over a month ago, when school started?}  
  
{That`s just it,} he groaned. {We`ve been looking, but none of the guys in our house want to fill the position. We`re lucky that the first game of the season was between Ravenclaw and Slytherin, because it gives us more time to try and find some replacement guys!} Joey gave him a *very* irritated glare.  
  
{And why the hell haven`t I heard about this?!} she was practically yelling. James gave her a very sheepish look and just stared at the ground in front of him. She got impatient at his silence, {HMMM?!!!}  
  
{Well . . .} he started out slowly. {Considering the conditions . . .} he was obviously choosing his words carefully to aggravate the smallest amount of fury, {. . . the team decided that it would probably be . . . *wisest* to choose the replacement players by means of only allowing them to be of the more . . . *physically competent* gender.}  
  
Joey had a very expressionless look on her face. She retorted flatly, {James, if you mean to imply that you don`t want any girls on your team, then just say it plainly to my, obviously, too feminine, face.}  
  
James answered her very quickly and quietly while desperately avoiding her threatening scowl. {CaptainWealdwashopingthatperhapswewouldfindjustboystofillthepart.} Joey eyes narrowed . . . so this was Captain Weald`s doing.  
  
{Captain Weald?} she asked with a calmer tone. {That`s the guy who`s . . .}  
  
{Fucked half the girls in our year? Yeah,} James finished her thought.  
  
{That`s not exactly the choice of words I would have used, but-}  
  
{It`s true,} he interrupted her again. {. . . at least HE reminds us of that almost every day. . .} James almost trailed off when he suddenly remembered the point he was trying to make. {The point is, Joey, that Weald has absolutely NO RESPECT for girls. There`s not a chance that he would consider putting you on the team. He`s just a sweet talking dick weed who would gladly take advantage of you before even mulling over the idea of putting you on the team!} They had finally reached the quidditch pitch and were standing on the grass in the middle of the stadium.  
  
{James!} Joey protested, {I`ve played muggle co-ed baseball for the past ten years, I even won the record for being the girl to hit the most home runs on my recreational league. . . I think I`d make an awesome beater!}  
  
{Baseball?} he looked utterly perturbed. Joey almost laughed at the thought that he had no idea what she was talking about.  
  
Joey`s father was an American muggle who had moved to Europe when he was twenty-five years old for the purpose of finding work. Since he was a muggle, Joey`s parents had made a huge effort to get her involved in certain muggle sports and customs. She had been exposed to so many muggle things ever since she was a little girl that she knew everything there was to know about living in a muggle world.  
  
{Baseball is an American, muggle sport involving small, hard balls that you hit with long, hard bats. It`s a very similar concept of hitting a bludger!} Joey felt almost stupid at giving the pathetic explanation of one of her favorite past times.  
  
James had that look on his face which he got when he was plotting a really sneaky prank. He had the words `it just might work` plastered all across his face. {But have you ever flown before?} he asked uncertainly. Joey shrugged nonchalantly.  
  
{Sure, I have. Do you know any witch or wizard who hasn`t?}  
  
{No, but the real question is `are you any good?`}  
  
Joey gave him a smirk. {I can handle myself alright.} James gave her a very uncertain, but curious look. Joey gave him a devious smile and grabbed the broom out of James` hand. {How about I let you be the judge of that?!} she yelled over her shoulder as she kicked off and flew high up into the air. Once the shock had worn off that she had, in fact, *stolen* his broom right out from under his nose, he found himself rather impressed by Joey`s natural ability to fly.  
  
After a few moments of twirling, dipping, and diving on the high- modeled broom stick, Joey landed flatly on the ground in front of James. Her hair was completely wind blown, her cheeks and nose were rosy from being whipped by the stinging wind, and her eyes were watering from the cool, fresh air, that had been whisking across her face; never the less, she was smiling broadly at the highly impressed look across James Potters` face.  
  
{I think we`ve found a beater!} he laughed.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It was late morning by the time Joey and James started walking back up to the castle for breakfast. When they had finally entered the great hall, they saw Lily and Remus walking down the stairs together towards the dining hall. Lily squealed when she saw them, and came hurrying down the stairs towards them, Remus just in step behind her. Pecking James lightly on the cheek and greeting him good morning, she quickly looped her arm through Joey`s and started pulling her ahead of the two boys so that they could talk in private.  
  
{I heard about Amos and that slut he was with last night!} she hissed in Joey`s ear. Joey just rolled her eyes. How did she know ALREADY?! There were, what, FOUR people who witnessed what happened . . . INCLUDING HERSELF?!  
  
{Yeah . . .} Joey grumbled, {what of it?}  
  
Lily looked hysterical. {Joey . . . apparently, the girl`s name is Catrina (*yes, I meant to spell it like that*), and you will NOT BELIEVE what I just found out about that whore!}  
  
And . . . the chapter ends! I`m gonna have some FUN with where this story is going . . . Hehehe! I need to go to bed! It`s so freakin` late here . . . or I guess I should say early, considering it`s *technically* morning! *yawn* Sara`s sleepy! Anywayz, I`m totally sorry about all of the grammatical errors that I`m sure are present, like, non-stop in this chapter, but I`m just too damn lazy to reread my work AGAIN!!! Man! I just know I spelled hella shit wrong . . . oh, well! Please Review! Much Luv! = ] 


	19. That's One Way to Do it!

Hey everyone!!! Thanks to all you guys who reviewed my last chapter!!! You guys are soooo awesome! I can't explain how much your support means to me! *tear* Hahaha! Jk! Receiving your inspiring words usually doesn't mean that the tears start flowing from my eyes. . . But it DOES mean a gi- normous wad of confidence booster, and that's always majorly helpful when writing a story! Please continue to review, and I will be forever grateful and luv you all much!!! Hahahaha! Enjoy this chapter! Even I found myself giggling furiously while I wrote it! = ]  
  
OH! And sorry for not completely explaining something . . . Joey hasn't exactly made the quidditch team yet, James and she still have to talk to Weald about it and persuade him to let her on the team. That goes on in this chapter some. Sorry about the vagueness of the statement: "I think we've found a beater." James was simply stating that he was highly impressed with her skills and that she could definitely have a chance to make the team. Okie-dokie! Onto my next chapter!!! It's gonna be a looonnnng one! Oh, well! Hehehe! = ]  
  
This is one of my favorite love quotes! It always manages to crack me up!  
  
"Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your heart or burn down your house, you can never tell."  
-Joan Crawford  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Joey gave Lily a rather uninterested look. She said coolly, "Lily, if you are seriously planning on talking to me about my ex-boyfriends new *fling*, I have to admit that I am completely uninterested."  
  
"Oh, pulease, Joey!!!" Lily squirmed in her arm. "THIS you would like to know!" Joey, her expression not faltering from its blasé appearance, rolled her eyes over towards Lily's pleading look  
  
"Alright," she sighed, "what is it?" Lily's face got really giddy looking as she leaned in closer to tell Joey her urgent news.  
  
"Apparently, that bitch, Catrina . . . they call her Cat for short . . ." she said the name like it was a dirty word, ". . . she transferred here to Hogwarts just last week . . . she's an *American*" Lily sounded like the word 'American' made her want to vomit. Joey looked over at her like she had gone mad.  
  
"Lily!" Joey began, sounding a little impatient, "why is it a bad thing to be an American?! You know my dad's an American don't you? I can't believe you would even thi-"  
  
Joey didn't get a chance to finish her statement before Lily cut her off. "Oh, Joey . . . that's not what I meant. You didn't let me finish telling you about *Catrina*. . . I was just giving you some background on that chippie." Joey shut her mouth reluctantly. She wasn't really satisfied with Lily's cover, but she was still curious about what else she had to say.  
  
"Well, go on, then!"  
  
"Okay, so apparently, she just transferred here last week . . . and I have no freakin' clue how we didn't notice her, but she's a sixth year . . . in Gryffindor!" Joey just stared at her, mouth hanging open a bit.  
  
"Wha-?"  
  
"I know," Lily said flatly. "I'd expect something like that from a Slytherin, but who would have thought someone from our *own* house!!! Double-crossing bitch . . ." Lily trailed off. The two girls walked in silence for a few moments mulling over the thought.  
  
"Is that all you wanted to tell me about this *Catrina-* . . . what did you say her last name was?"  
  
"Strumpet. Catrina Strumpet." Lily spat out with a definite tone. Joey choked when she heard the name. She looked up into Lily's eyes which were beginning to water with laughter too.  
  
"Strumpet?!! Strump-" Joey choked on the words again as she busted up into laughter. "Isn't that, like, slang for the word-"  
  
"Prostitute?" Lily interrupted her. "Yup!" The girls giggled audaciously for a few minutes. Joey got serious again.  
  
"So is that all you wanted to tell me about Catrina *Strumpet*?" she said the name with a little ring, trying her best to keep a straight face. Lily's face got that gossipy look to it again.  
  
"No, actually . . . word has it that she's an unregistered animagus." Lily's eyes were aglow with excitement.  
  
"Really?" Joey suddenly seemed a bit more interested in the conversation.  
  
"Mmhmm . . . I heard she can turn into a Siamese cat." Lily's voice sounded highly secretive, though Joey was pretty sure that this 'undisclosed' piece of information had, most likely, already been passed around the entire school by now. "I guess that would explain her 'slinky' little ways . . ." Lily trailed off as the two friends entered the dining hall.  
  
The two girls allowed for James and Remus to finally catch up in step with them as they sauntered over to the Gryffindor table. The four friends found Sirius, Flam and Peter already sitting at their breakfasts, eating away at their eggs and toast. Joey and Remus sat on the side of the table next to Sirius (he had Flam on his shoulder, who soon crawled onto Joey's shoulder as she sat next to him), and Lily and James took their seats on the side with Peter.  
  
Just as Joey sat down at the table next to Sirius, he whispered "Good morning, Beautiful," as he leaned over and kissed her warmly on the lips. Just as he pulled away, he soon realized how bad that idea really was when he saw the stunned-looking Joey staring straight back at him. Practically, the *entire* Gryffindor table was gawking at them like they had just started macking on each other right in a spotlight.  
  
Sirius' turned scarlet as he realized that the look Joey was giving him told him that she was really hoping for them to keep their relationship quiet. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head that he figured would cause everyone to believe his *actions* were completely irrelevant to anything that might be going on between Joey and himself.  
  
In one swift movement, Sirius stood up, leaned over the table, and then to everybody's surprise, kissed LILY heavily on the lips. Just as he pulled away, he whispered, loud enough so that anyone around them could hear, "and a good morning to you, too, my other gorgeous buddy."  
  
Sirius sat back down with a wide smirk across his face as he began gingerly eating his eggs again. He glanced over at Remus, who was sitting next to him, only to have his friendly smile returned with a disturbed gape that seemed to say 'don't even thing about it!'  
  
James, who almost looked fuming at this point, shot out of his seat, and followed Sirius' example. He leaned right across the table and planted a big, wet kiss on Joey's unsuspecting lips. "Good morning, oh gorgeous, not to mention, completely platonic, friend of mine!" he said with a satisfied smirk.  
  
He then sat back down and turned to Lily, who, by now, was laughing so hard, that there wasn't even a chance he could have kissed her. Lily's contagious giggles got the best of all six of the friends, and they all started cracking up beyond repair. They didn't know WHAT the rest of the Gryffindors were all thinking by now, but it couldn't have been something too wholesome.  
  
Breakfast continued, and everyone began ravenously grabbing at bagels, croissants, toast, and eggs. There was little talk going on between the six friends after their little snog-fest. However, about half way through finishing her meal, Joey felt a very sharp kick on her shin that couldn't have been mistaken for any other shoe besides the heavy chocolate-colored clogs that Lily always loved and wore.  
  
Glancing up at the blameworthy assailant, Joey noticed Lily giving a very weird head nod towards the left of her. Joey quickly got the gist of what Lily was trying to say, and nonchalantly took a glimpse of the row of students to the left of her friend. Joey almost gasped aloud when she saw, the one and only, Catrina Strumpet sitting down a few seats over.  
  
Catrina was wearing an extremely provocative, crimson blouse that seemed to go *perfectly* with her incredibly undersized mini-skirt. Joey felt disgusted at seeing the little tart looking like a hooker while she was simply eating her Saturday morning breakfast. Joey found herself wondering if she was imagining it, but Catrina did seem especially interested in the very handsome, the very *unavailable* Sirius Black, who happened to be sitting right next to Joey. Sirius of course, was very much, unaware of this.  
  
Joey looked back at Lily, and trying her best to do it without getting any of the boys' attention, began in a whole charade of head nods and eye shifts, to explain to her friend what she was thinking. Lily and Joey had just gotten into the confusing body-language conversation, just as James looked up at the two of them, clearly looking like he was about to say something. They abruptly ceased their frenzy of twitching and spasming, and James looked at the two girls with a very curious expression on his face. He shook his head amusedly at their weird antics, and continued on his thought process as he spoke to Joey.  
  
"So, Joey . . . if you're going to try out for beater, you're gonna have to talk to Weald some time soon . . ." he began as he pointed down the long Gryffindor table at Captain Weald, who had situated himself at the end of it. ". . .preferably this morning so that we can get you on the team as soon as possible, and then try and purchase some quidditch supplies for you in a mail order." Everyone sitting around them suddenly perked up at what they had just heard James say. Sirius especially looked thrilled.  
  
"You mean to say that Joey is going to be a beater for the Gryffindor quidditch team?" Sirius asked excitedly. Joey gave him a hopeful smile.  
  
"Well . . . I *hope* so! I still have to talk to Weald about it . . . and I'm not too sure how that's gonna go . . ."  
  
"Ugggg!" Sirius groaned loudly. "You have to convince Weald to get you on the team . . . Ha! Good luck!" he said sardonically.  
  
"You'll just have to *persuade* him, Joey!" James said with a definite tone.  
  
"What the hell do you mean by *persuade* him?" Joey was not sounding amused at all.  
  
"You know . . . get on his good side . . ." James gave her a bit of a suggestive smirk. Joey gave an offended huff, while Sirius backed her up with a threatening growl.  
  
"If he so much as even gives you a lewd expression tha-" Sirius began before James interrupted him.  
  
"Don't worry, Padfoot!" he laughed as he reached across the table and gingerly patted his best buddy on his strapping arm. "I'll be there . . . I'm just trying to tell Joey, that if she wants to get on the team, she's just going to have to *get his attention* a bit." Joey rolled her eyes.  
  
"James, I'm just gonna do my best to get him to see that I can play quidditch . . . not play around!" she said, much to Sirius' relief. "Besides, you said you guys were pretty desperate for some players . . . I'm sure he'll give me a try!" James shrugged.  
  
"All I'm saying is that Weald has got a pretty much, two track mind: Quidditch, sex, quidditch, sex, quidditch, sex . . . he'll certainly be looking to intertwine those two obsessions of his if he considers putting you on the team!" Both Joey and Sirius gave him a dirty look when he said this, so he hurriedly tried to finish his thought, "All I'm saying is that you should keep that idea in the back of your mind when you're trying to get the position . . . it just might come in handy, you never know!" And with that, James brought his gaze back down onto his piece of toast, and left his friends to their thoughts.  
  
Joey was suddenly wondering if she really wanted to still do this. But when she thought about how proud her friends and family would be with her, she had her mind set that she really wanted to give it her best shot. Just as she was contemplating all of this, she glanced back down the table where Catrina had been sitting.  
  
Catrina had obviously been intently listening to what James and Joey had been talking about, because she was still looking over at them. To Joey's surprise, Catrina and her locked gazes, and both narrowed their eyes at one another. 'Bitch,' Joey thought to herself. Catrina quickly lost the staring contest and averted her eyes back onto her breakfast. Even a supposed Siamese cat couldn't beat down Joey's death glare. No way in hell.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
They had finally finished their breakfast when Joey stood up and made her way over to wear Weald was standing. James quickly grabbed her arm and yanked her back.  
  
"You aren't going to go talk to him looking like that are you?" he sounded a little worried. Joey almost became offended, but then she looked down at the work-out clothes she was wearing. They were splashed with mud from the saturated quidditch pitch, and she could tell that her mud-streaked hair was everywhere, complementing the dirt smudges across her cheeks quite nicely. She certainly knew how to make a mess of herself! Joey almost laughed, but she wasn't going to let James get away with making that comment without feeling at least a *little* bad about it.  
  
"What's wrong with the way I look?" she tried her hardest to sound hurt, and it seemed to be working judging on the fact that James had a apologetic look come across his face.  
  
"Oh! . . . well it's just that . . . you know . . . I guess if you were going to talk to Weald . . . you might have a better chance of . . . getting him to listen to you if . . . you looked a little . . . cleaner . . ." His uncomfortable expression turned quizzical when Joey started laughing. She gave him a playful pat on the side of his arm and just turned and started walking out of the dining hall with Lily. She called over her shoulder as the left:  
  
"I'll just go get cleaned up, then . . . meet you in the common room!"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The two girls dashed up to the common room and up into their dormitory. Joey was really anxious about having to talk to Weald in order to get on the team. She was worried he would just shoot her down the second she even mentioned the word quidditch. Just as Joey hurried into the bathroom with a pair of clean underwear, Lily called over to her:  
  
"While you shower, I'll pick you out something *suitable* to wear!" Joey stopped in her tracks when she heard Lily say this. The way the word 'suitable' rolled off that girl's tongue was NOT very comforting. Joey whirled around to face her best friend.  
  
"Uhhh . . .Lily! I really don't think I want to wear something that's gonna make him think tha-"  
  
"Don't worry! I'll pick out something suitable! I promise it won't be . . . *arousing*!!!" Joey narrowed her eyes at her best friend's innocent grin. She just rolled her eyes and closed the door to the bathroom. Uggg!  
  
Joey got out of the shower and quickly changed into the clothes that Lily had picked out for her. While she was alright with wearing the sporty track pants that Lily had picked, Joey found herself to be a little hesitant to put on the short, black top that she only ever wore when running on a burning-hot day. It was a halter that was *very* form fitting, and, though there was no bust peeking out, Joey still wasn't quite so comfortable with showing off her chest with such 'unyielding' material. The hem of the shirt sat tightly just above Joey's belly button, and part of her softly shaped abdominal muscles could be visible, giving anyone who looked, a little glimpse of her well-formed body. Lily finally convinced her that it was a sporty ensemble that simply made her look . . . *approachable* . . . whatever the hell that meant.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Thanking Lily for all her *help,* Joey grabbed Flam and hurried down the stairs to meet James who was waiting for her in the common room. He was waiting down there alone, doing some of his transfiguration homework to kill the time. Little did Joey know that he had forced Sirius to remain in the dormitory, in fear that the 'boyfriend jealousy rage' thing would take over and he would refuse for her to even talk to Weald.  
  
Joey walked over to him and got his attention. James looked up from his work and his jaw hit the floor. Joey really did look hot, and even though James wasn't attracted to her like that, he certainly felt his pulse rising. He stood up and tried his best to keep eye contact, not letting his eyes 'break the horizon.' *insert authors compulsive giggles*  
  
"Wha- . . . what are you wearing?" he managed to croak out. Joey looked at him like he had pumpkin juice spewing out of his ears.  
  
"What's wrong? Oh, no! Does it give me a disinterested look . . . you know . . . like I'm not serious about the game? Because I can go change into someth-"  
  
"NO! No . . . I just think we should hurry."  
  
"Hurry?"  
  
"Yeah . . . because if Sirius sees you wearing that, then first he's gonna drool all over himself, and then he's gonna hit the roof when he realizes you're about to go talk to Weald while looking like that!"  
  
"Huh? What are you talking abou-?"  
  
"Never mind!" he said quickly as he forced her out towards the portrait hole. "Let's go find Weald!"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
They were walking out to the quidditch pitch, since James had this gut feeling that Weald had to have been out joy-flying on the lovely Saturday afternoon that they were having. James found himself coaching Joey on what would happen and what she should expect when talking to Weald.  
  
"Now leave all the talking to me," he said. "Weald will most likely refuse to let you on the team since you are a girl . . . and especially since you want to be a beater." He paused for a short moment. Giving Joey a sideways glance, he asked her, "Did I mention that Weald is the other beater on our team?" Joey shook her head no. James sighed deeply. "That's the main reason why it's going to be super hard to get the position. Weald is a superb beater who knows exactly what to look for in a replacement one." Joey didn't find much time to be angry with James at the fact that he kept this important information from her, because she soon found herself in the middle of the quidditch pitch, staring up at a few figures circling the skies above them.  
  
It was easy to pick Weald out of the crowd of three fliers. He was by far the biggest guy up in the sky, shirtless, and baring enormous muscles that could have easily crushed Amos Diggory in a flash. He was almost intimidating, but then Joey didn't have quite an opportunity to judge his appearance very long before James was calling up to him.  
  
"Hey, Weald!!!" James bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Get your beatin' ass down here!" The shirtless piece of male specimen slowly descended from the sky and landed with a thud, a few yards away from James. James walked over to him so that Joey was out of the picture, but not quite out of ear shot. Weald stood about an inch taller than James, and had quite a bit more muscle mass.  
  
"Potter," he greeted him gruffly. There was a slight indication of an Australian accent in his voice.  
  
"Hey Weald," James returned.  
  
"What's up?"  
  
"Well . . . I think I've found us a beater."  
  
"Ha! James, that's practically impossible! We've talked to all the blokes in our year! Who could you have found?" Weald was looking at him intently.  
  
"Well, I didn't talk to a bloke . . ."  
  
"What?! You talked to a girl?!" Joey suddenly became very aware of the fact that Weald was now eyeing her suspiciously as he said this. Weald looked back down at James and lowered his voice a few measures so that Joey had to strain her ears to hear him. "Are you a complete drongo?! A girl?!!" he paused for a moment and then continued, ". . . well, is that her over there, then?" he asked as he motioned in Joey's direction. James nodded. Joey could see Weald sigh deeply and gesture to James to get Joey to come over and join in their conversation.  
  
Within a moment, Joey was standing over next to James, having Weald eye her with curiosity and intrigue. He gave her a bit of a suggestive smirk and made it obvious that he was checking her out.  
  
"'ello sweet'eart," he gave her a wink as he reached down and brushed his lips up against her smooth hand. "My name is Jason Weald . . . *Captain* Jason Weald, that is," Joey just stared at him blankly. 'Give me a break!' she was thinking. This guy was certainly a smooth talker! She was desperately resisting the urge to kick him very sharply in his tender spots just for calling her "sweet'eart."  
  
"Joanne Atramentous," she responded coolly. This guy was not going to get a rise out of her! The suggestive smirk grew wider on Jason's face, and Joey could hear a low rumble from deep in his chest which was unmistakable laughter. Suddenly, Weald was yelling up into the sky, and before they knew it, the other two fliers were perched on either side of him, scowling curiously at Joey.  
  
"Miss . . . - Atramentous, was it?" he said with an audible tone. He waited for her nod of recognition, and then continued, "Yes, well . . . Miss *Atramentous*, here, is planning on trying out for the beater position, boys." He was obviously addressing the two guys standing behind him, but his stare never left Joey as he spoke. Joey shifted uneasily under his gaze. The smirk across Weald's face showed that he was quite amused with himself that he could make Joey uncomfortable.  
  
Weald continued to penetrate through Joey's unwavering, defiant stare as he went on: "These two blokes behind me are our keeper, named Robert" he gestured to one of them, "and one of our chasers, named Nick" he gestured to the other. "And in case you didn't know . . . *Joe* . . . I'm the beater on this team, so I'll get to decided if your beater-worthy material . . . do you get me?" Joey nodded.  
  
Suddenly, Weald turned his head to the side so that he was looking, out of the corner of his eye, at the chaser, Nick, on his right, and barked out the word 'bat.' In one fluid motion, he outstretched his arm so that his hand was poised to catch the bat that was then tossed to him. Weald's eyes met back up with Joey's, and he forcefully shoved the bat at her. "Let's see what you can do," he said with a low voice that was barely audible.  
  
Joey just stood there. She had no idea what Weald was about to do . . . or have her do. Glancing nervously over at James, she didn't gain much reassurance at his panicked stare that was focused directly in front of him. Joey followed his gaze and saw a big brown chest that Weald was walking over to and unlatching.  
  
Before Joey knew it, there was a very hard-looking ball coming shooting at her face at an unbelievable speed. Her first reaction was to duck, and the cement-like sphere shot past her head and flew in another direction.  
  
"You're gonna have to do better than Joe!" she could hear Weald bellow over the sudden commotion of balls whizzing around the sky. Joey straightened back up as the next bludger came swooping down towards her. She wound up and pounded the ball as hard as she could. The weight of the impact went crashing down her whole body, and she winced as she felt the awesome contact she had with the round object.  
  
Apparently she had smacked the living shit out of the bludger, because it went zipping past Weald's ducked head, and smacked painfully into the side of the arm that belonged to the keeper, Robert, who was situated on the left side of Jason. The impact with the bludger sent the keeper spiraling backward, and James and the chaser went sprinting over to his side. Joey just stood there, a little shocked and breathless at what had happened. Glancing over at Weald, she noticed his mouth hanging open in surprise.  
  
"Damn!" was all he said before he walked over to Joey and stuck his hand out for her to shake. "Welcome onto the Gryffindor quidditch team!" he said cheerfully. A smile crept over Joey's face as she shook his hand proudly. Then they hurried over to the un-hurt, but extremely shaken up, quidditch keeper.  
  
Okay! That was a long chapter, but I certainly hope you guys enjoyed it! Go Joey! Yeah! Hahaha! Okay, well, I'm sure you're anticipating some new problems coming up with all the new characters I've planted into my plot! *grin* This is gonna be fun! And if you guys were a little confused about anything that went on in this chapter, don't hesitate to ask!!! Please review! I'm starved for your input! Hahaha! = ]  
  
Oh, and just for the record: I do not have a potty mouth! A few of you commented me on my . . . *vulgar* language, and I just have to say that I do not have a f**kin' potty mouth! I mean, what the F***KING SH*T?! Hahaha! JKJK! I'm just playin'! Oh, who the hell am I kidding! I AM a potty mouth! Excuse me while I go wash my tongue with soap! Hahaha! JkJk! I really don't type as many cuss words as I would like to, you know . . . *cheesy smile* (you guys know I still love ya ; ) 


	20. So Very Suggestive

Howdy, All! Thanx so much for all your reviews! I appreciate them from the bottom of my mushy little heart! *wink* Sorry it took so long to update! I've been organizing my thoughts! . . . Really, I have! You don't want to rush me! Then the story doesn't come out how I want it and everything sounds like it was rushed! So give me time! *grin* The story will definitely start heating up a bit pretty soon! Don't ask when . . . just know it's coming! Ahhhh . . . life is good. Anywayz, don't allow me to bore you . . . read on! ; }  
  
Please forgive any spelling/grammar errors past this point!  
  
Lo siento. Estoy muy cansada. No tengo el tiempo para correjir mis errores.  
  
Translation: I'm sorry. I am very tired. I do not have the time to correct my errors.  
  
You're a cool chica Sakura! You can help con mi espanol as much as you want! ^_~ Lord know I need the help!!!  
  
p.s. don't bother trying to understand my little obsession with trying to talk in Spanish! I blame my sister for rubbing off on me! : + }  
  
With no further delays, here it is! Number twenty! The big mile stone! Appreciate this one, it means a lot to me . . . even if it's probably not my best chapter . . . it's a mile stone none-the-less! Enjoy!  
  
~**~*~**~*~**~*~  
  
True love cannot be found where it truly does not exist, nor can it be hidden where it truly does.  
-unknown  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The rest of the weekend went by pretty slow and uneventful, considering the fact that everyone was trying to finish up the last week's bit of homework before the new one began. Everyone was really excited for Joey's new addition to the Gryffindor quidditch team, and people were curiously chattering about who could possibly fill the position for chaser.  
  
By the time Monday had rolled around, everyone was restless at the thought that they would have to settle back into their normal routines. Halloween was over. Joey on the other hand, felt a huge amount of more energy, considering today would be her first ever quidditch practice. Unfortunately, the mail-in quidditch order she had made would take a few days for all of her new gear to arrive, so she was just going to have to settle with the school's equipment until then. Still, in all, she was practically bouncing up and down with liveliness during Monday's first period class: Advanced Potions.  
  
It certainly seemed to Joey that she was the only one with any enthusiasm. Even Remus, who was Joey's lab partner, looked a little lost in thought while he chopped up his dragon's toenail for the potion they were concocting.  
  
"What's up, Moony?" Joey whispered, trying to not attract McShailty's attention. She'd already gotten points taken away today because, according to Professor McShailty, her 'overly cheerful' demeanor was giving him a migraine on such an early Monday morning. Joey had rolled her eyes at this remark, but kept her merriment down to a pocket-sized beam.  
  
Looking up at her a little startled, Remus gave a half shrug and looked back down at his work, cheeks a tad flushed. "Come, on," she coaxed with a very loving tone. "You know you want to tell me . . ." Remus glanced back up at her, trying to hide the smile that was creeping across his lips. Joey's joyful charisma was totally contagious. "It's about a *girl,* huh?"  
  
"No . . ." Remus whispered back, obviously trying to mask his lie with a desperately serious expression.  
  
"You lie, Remus Lupin!" Joey giggled, forgetting for a moment to keep her voice down.  
  
"Miss Atra-mindless!" McShailty hissed at her from across the class room. "I suggest you keep your mouth SHUT! I highly doubt that the class is interested in Mr. Lupin's ideals in being honest!" Joey cowered down a bit before the professor turned back around to finish his work. She rolled her eyes, and so it was barely audible, whispered to Remus.  
  
"Did he just make fun of my name?!!!" she seethed with anger. "Why, that good for nothing . . ."  
  
"Joey!" Remus whispered back to her, a little louder than he had intended, as he gently grabbed her arm. "Relax! McShailty's a dick! We all know that . . . get over it. It's not worth losing your head over."  
  
"Despite your suspicions of what anatomical organ I may bear a resemblance to, Mr. Lupin, I do still have ears . . . And I do suggest you become conscious of this fact before you join me in detention tomorrow night." McShailty's words cut through the hushed atmosphere of the potions room.  
  
Remus just sat there, eyes wide in astonishment, looking quite like he had just 'shit a brick' from the shock of his professor overhearing him. Slowly turning his head to meet the Professor's cold eyes, Lupin gave him an extremely embarrassed, half nod and turned back to his friend.  
  
Joey had her head tucked into the neck of her robes so that Remus couldn't see her face. It didn't matter that he couldn't anyways, because Joey was shaking so violently, that it was obvious that she was laughing her ass off. She slowly lifted her head out of her robe and brushed the tears away from her face. Her cheeks were a bright cherry, and she kept letting out little whimpers as she breathed, trying her best to return her pulse back to normal. Remus poked her playfully in the side as he realized the humor of the situation. After all, Professor McShailty did just hear his best student call him a dick!  
  
Remus just shook his head slowly as he tried his best to suppress the smile on his face. Joey finally brought her eyes up to meet Remus', and she gave him a pleadingly sorry look that seemed just a little strange along with the squirrelly smile that was still plastered across her smooth features. The professor left to the back room of the classroom for a moment, leaving a quick window-of-opportunity for the students to converse quietly before his return.  
  
"Well maybe detention won't be so bad!" Joey whispered, sure the McShailty wouldn't be able to hear them this time.  
  
"Why's that?" he whispered with a bit of a depressed tone.  
  
"Well, I kind of heard from a certain Ravenclaw sixth year, named Laura, that she has a potion-detention this Tuesday evening, as well," Joey mouthed, as she finished pouring the rest of their ingredients into the cauldron.  
  
"REALLY?!" Remus' eyes were aglow.  
  
"I knew it, Remus!" Joey shrieked with joy. "It *is* a girl that's on your mind!" Remus' face fell flat.  
  
"Joey! That was too sneaky! I can't believe you would lie to me, just to get me to admit my feelings for Laura!" A devious smile played across Joey's face.  
  
"Who said I lied?" she laughed. "I was just trying to get you to open up to a few things by giving you a little incentive."  
  
"So does Laura have detention tomorrow, or not?" Remus asked. Joey nodded yes, and a shy smile was now visible on the blued-eyed boy's face.  
  
"I saw her in the library yesterday. She was telling me how she had detention for a few nights this week with Professor McShailty." Remus frowned.  
  
"It doesn't sound like Laura to be such a trouble maker!" he reasoned.  
  
"I know, but it wasn't her fault. Apparently the Professor wrote something incorrectly on the board and Laura called him on it . . . McShailty wasn't too pleased, so he called her a 'disrespectful little cretin,' and then forced her to have detention!" Remus looked a little shocked.  
  
"It's weird she never told me all of this!"  
  
"She said she didn't want you thinking lowly of her . . . she's a really smart Ravenclaw, you know . . . she didn't want you to think that she was some dumb bimbo, or anything." Remus' frown increased.  
  
"I wouldn't think that! I was actually going to . . ." Remus trailed off as he broke his eye contact with Joey and his cheeks deepened into a violent shade of scarlet. Joey had never seen him like this before, and it made her want to burst with excitement.  
  
"Ask her out, perhaps?!" Joey couldn't contain her glee when Remus nodded, and she squealed as she jumped out of her chair and threw her arms around her werewolf buddy. "You guys are soooo perfect for each other!!! You are both so intelligent, and your personalities match perfectly!"  
  
Professor McShailty came back into the room just as Joey was hugging Remus. An enormous glower crossed over the teachers face.  
  
"Miss Atra-mentoucher!" the classed giggled with contentment at the suggestive name-calling. "I thought I told you to keep your annoyingly excitable feelings to yourself this morning?!" The professor looked very angry with her, but then, suddenly, a very sinister smile crawled over his ugly little features. "Perhaps I have a suitable punishment for the two of you . . ."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"TUTORING?!!!" Sirius bellowed with laughter after he had met up with Remus and Joey after their potions class. The two nodded crossly.  
  
"He says it's a suitable punishment for his two most intelligent students to misbehave," Joey sneered.  
  
"What the hell do you guys have to do?" Sirius asked, trying to sound a little more caring. The whole situation seemed pretty hilarious to him.  
  
"Well," Remus explained, "we only have to tutor the Gryffindor students that are having trouble with potions. McShailty says he has a few students who need some extra help with the subject, so now we have to help tutor the of students that are in some of his lower classes."  
  
"This is ridiculous!" Sirius jeered. "What in the hell did you guys do to get a punishment like this?!"  
  
"I hugged him!" Joey said. Sirius cocked an eyebrow at Remus.  
  
"Oh I see how it is!" Sirius said with a teasing tone. "So I'm gonna have to keep an eye on Moony, now, to stay away from my girl!"  
  
"Now, don't suggest that for a minute!" Remus laughed.  
  
"On the contrary, Padfoot," Joey giggled mischievously, "our friend Moony over here has his cute little eye set on another fair maiden!"  
  
"Is that right?" Sirius joined in on the fun.  
  
"What do you mean by *another* fair maiden?" Remus teased. "I don't see any fair maidens around here!" Joey punched Remus on the arm a little more than just playfully.  
  
"Excuse me! But you happen to be looking right at a fair maiden, thank you very much!" Joey retorted. They now entered a pretty empty corridor on the way to Joey's transfiguration classroom. Sirius and Remus planned to drop her off before they headed out to their own class, Care of Magical Creatures.  
  
"So who's the babe?" Sirius questioned like he hadn't even heard Joey trying to pick a fight with Remus. "Is it that chick you were with at the ball?" Remus nodded happily. Joey scrunched up her nose in what looked like a sign of annoyance.  
  
"What is with you guys and referring to an average girl with the label 'babe' and 'chick'?" she demanded as they approached the transfiguration classroom the two boys would drop her off at.  
  
"Because, Sweetie . . ." Sirius said in a soothing tone as he drew her right in front of himself and leaned his forehead up against hers, their noses touching gently, "I save all of the *flattering* 'terms of endearment' for when I'm referring to you." He intertwined his hands with hers and gave her an innocent, affectionate smile that gave Joey goose bumps along her neck. She couldn't help smile when looking deep into his twinkling, silver eyes.  
  
She whispered melodiously into his ear as he pulled her in even closer, "Despite your keen, yet pathetic efforts to get laid, I suppose your toil won't be completely overlooked."  
  
At her words, Sirius' eyebrows shot up, his jaw dropped open and his grip on her hands went limp. Joey tried hard not to burst with laughter at his obvious surprise, and she gave Sirius a suggestive smirk and cocked her eyebrows at him.  
  
Then she nonchalantly gave him a little peck on his bottom lip that was still hanging down with his mouth open, and casually spun around towards the open door to her next class. She gave Remus a nod and a smile, and continued into her class without looking back.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Second period went by extremely fast, and Sirius 'miraculously' found a new spring in his step. Remus found this quite humorous and managed to tease him about it all through class. Though Sirius denied any change in his attitude from that morning, he couldn't be in denial with himself that he couldn't stop thinking about Joey. He had it *bad.*  
  
Even at lunch, Sirius could barely take his eyes off Joey as she sat across from him, and a few places down. She was intently having a conversation with Lily and a few other girls, and took no notice of Sirius' gaze.  
  
Taking advantage of his lack of awareness, Flam had managed to waddle over to a corner of Sirius' plate and continuously munch away at his slice of meat. James started chuckling as he realized this.  
  
"Hey, Sirius . . . looks like you've got a friend, there!" Sirius mildly glanced down at his plate to find Flam there. He gave a rather mechanical smile and began stroking the bird, only to return his longing stare back to Joey. She had finished talking with the girls and was now focusing on the food in front of her as the other girls continued to talk about something she seemed to have no interest in.  
  
Sirius was clearly not with it, and James wanted to know why. "Uhhh . . . earth-to-Sirius! What's with you, man?"  
  
His words almost shook him awake, and Sirius kind of gave him a confused look. Remus started chuckling to himself as he realized what was up, and Joey looked over from her meal as she heard the little inquiry directed at her boyfriend.  
  
"What?" he asked quizzically.  
  
"Well, for one thing, that bird has eaten more of your food than you have," James pointed out, "and another thing, you can't seem to take your eyes off someone that you see every day!"  
  
Sirius' cheeks went a little pink as he glanced back over at Joey and then back down at what was left of his meal. James just shook his head, gave half a shrug, and went back to his food. There were just some things he shouldn't even bother trying to understand about his best friend.  
  
Glancing back up at Joey, Sirius realized that she was now looking at him intently. He gave her a very flirtatious smirk to have it returned to him with a very knowing smile. The look Joey was giving him almost made him a little uncomfortable. It was a look that said she knew too much about something, but he wasn't sure what.  
  
Joey on the other hand, was quite pleased with the job she had done. The statement she had made earlier was obviously still affecting her boyfriend, and she wanted to take advantage of it. After all, she still had the confidence she had newly acquired from being accepted onto the quidditch team. She was practically a new and improved person!  
  
Temptingly holding his eye contact, Joey picked up her fork which still had the remnants of her chocolate cake on it. She gradually and not to mention, *avidly*, slid her tongue up the side of the fork and allowed the sweet frosting to glide into her half-parted mouth. Sirius sucked in a quick breath and just held it in his lungs. The cool flames that were alight in his eyes were even visible from where Joey was seated. She pursed her lips together with a slight smirk and ran her tongue along her upper lip. Sirius bit down hard on his lower lip and broke the eye contact between them.  
  
Before he had blocked out everything around him, but now he became aware of the conversation the three marauders around him were having. He tried his best to concentrate on what they were talking about, but his heart beat was sporadic, and he could feel little beads of sweat developing along his hairline. He let out a slow breath and didn't look back at Joey for the rest of lunch.  
  
A furtive smile slipped up her lightly freckled cheeks, and she attentively kept an eye on Sirius' facial expressions. He was loosing it. She was having fun. It was a sweet revenge she was enjoying for all the times he had tempted her by getting so very close to her lips and then smugly pulling away, causing her to go practically mad with yearning. Two people could play at that game, and Joey was now up a few points. She didn't feel guilty, though . . . she would make it up to him later.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Third period rolled around and Joey soon found herself in Charms class, sitting comfortably next to Sirius. They kept stealing looks at each other, and finally Professor Flitwick had them all working out of their text books with their partners as he passed back the essays they had written the week before. Sirius, of course, was working with Joey, and now took the chance to talk to her in whispers.  
  
"What did you mean by the comment you made earlier?" he barely murmured into her ear. Without even glancing up at him, Joey smiled and decided to play dumb.  
  
"What comment did I make?" she asked, starting to write something down on the parchment with her quill.  
  
"You said . . ." he bit his lip. He couldn't bring himself to say it. Joey pressed her eyes closed trying to keep her composure and not start giggling. She didn't know it had been *this* hard on the poor guy. She finally glanced up into his face and gave him a smirk.  
  
"I know what I said," she whispered and looked back down at her text book. Sirius was waiting for her to finish her thought, but it never came. He was anxious to know what she was thinking; whether or not she knew what she was doing to him. His canine instincts flooded through his body, and the lust and yearning rushing with it gave him more desires and urges than he could appropriately express in the Charms classroom. (*author gives suggestive cough*)  
  
Then he felt it. Under the table, Joey's hand had slid onto his leg, about mid-thy level. He had his clothes and robes on, but it didn't matter; her touch sent electrical currents up his leg when her fingers gently contracted against his firm quad muscles. He didn't want her to see him struggle. She was playing with him and he knew it. It was a losing battle, and he was going down fast.  
  
He was biting down sharply on his tongue and his eyes were frantically scanning his charms book to find a distraction when Joey's grip had loosened on his leg and her hand dropped away. He relaxed a bit before he realized that the charms teacher was standing in front of him holding his paper out for him to take. He felt his face flush as he accepted the paper without comment.  
  
"Well?" asked the professor expectantly.  
  
"Well what?" Sirius asked trying to use the most respectful tone possible.  
  
"I just asked you if you were feeling alright, boy," laughed the short, little professor.  
  
"Yes, of course I'm alright!" he said like he was actually telling the truth. "Why wouldn't I be alright?"  
  
"Well," began the professor, "I just announced to the students that you had received the highest marks in the class on the paper you wrote, but you just sat there, still frantically scanning your text book."  
  
"Oh," Sirius laughed nervously, "well, you know how wrapped up I can get in my charms homework!" Joey let out a snort of laughter, and was met with a few curious glances from some students around her. Needless to say, she quickly got a hold of herself.  
  
Professor Flitwick gave Sirius a bit of a worried smile and then nodded. He turned around and continued to pass out the papers. Sirius exhaled slowly. He gave a sideways glance over at Joey to see the guilty look play across her face. They both started smiling to themselves.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
That evening, the Gryffindor quidditch team crowded into the locker room before practice began. While the team waited for Captain Weald to arrive, Joey had a chance to chat with the players that she had met Saturday, and then meet the one player that she hadn't met yet: the second chaser on the team, named Joseph. The team still was down a chaser, so they were only consisting of a six player lineup.  
  
Joey had just started having a conversation with the teams keeper, Robert, about how his arm was doing much better from her massive wallop the other day, when Weald came strutting into the locker room, looking mighty pleased with himself. Joey was almost disgusted at the smug look on his face, and she could hear Robert, behind her, mumble something to Nick that sounded a lot like '. . . must have got some . . .'  
  
Weald grinned down at all of them as they took their seats on the locker room's benches. He nodded at Joey, showing he acknowledged her presence. Everyone thought that he smelled a lot like women's perfume that had gotten rubbed off onto him during a little 'snog session,' but they all kept their mouths shut.  
  
Then, Weald decided to open his mouth to speak. Joey thought it looked like he had a smudged-up red shade of lipstick across his mouth, but then decided that perhaps she was imagining it . . . or maybe not. After all, there had to me *some reason* why he was fifteen minutes late.  
  
"You guys are going to be very pleased with me!" he practically boasted with the ridiculously, self-righteous grin still plastered across his semi- handsome features. "I have finally ended our struggle for finding ourselves a complete quidditch team . . ." he paused a moment for the suspenseful effect, ". . . I have finally recruited us a third chaser!"  
  
The team began whispering excitedly as Weald just beamed happily down at everybody. Everyone started harassing him about who it was, and Weald just turned around and walked over to the door, his smile growing ever bigger. His hand was on the door knob now, but he didn't swing the door open. He still needed to finish his thought.  
  
"Now when you guys see this person, I don't want to hear any grumbling from any of you!" he paused for a moment as if choosing his next words carefully. "I think this person can be a fine . . . *asset* to the team, and you should all give them a chance before throwing stones."  
  
The whole team nodded reluctantly. By the way Weald was talking to them, it sounded like he had done something **really** stupid (extra emphasis on the really). Who the hell had he picked?! Joey had only just joined the team that evening, and even she found herself extremely nervous about what Weald had committed them all to.  
  
With a final nod, Weald opened the door to the locker room. Everyone held their breath, and in walked . . .  
  
***Catrina Strumpet***  
  
Ugggg! We hate Catrina! That bitch! (imagine the tone of the word 'bitch' the same as the tone from Legally Blond, when the gay guy storms out of the court room! Hehehe! That's such a funny movie! ) Anywayz, what the hell is Catrina doing here?! Well, I bet you guys can guess what Weald was doing before he showed up . . . and who he was doing it with. After all, how *else* could Catrina have gotten on the team?! Oh, well . . . I'll cover that more next chapter! Hope you enjoyed this one! There's much more Sirius/Joey to come! (insert suggestive eyebrow waggling) Didn't you just *love* to watch him struggle under the evil, evil wrath of Joey?! Bwahahaha! Sweet, sweet revenge! It's got to be the canine impulses that make it so *difficult* for him to control himself! *evil grin* OH! And there' more Remus/Laura to come too! Please review! Thanx a bundle and much luv to all! = ]  
  
-Sara (a.k.a. Sportzjunkie)  
  
Question to note to myself: Did I spell 'Flitwick' right? 


	21. Fair Play

Thought I'd actually take the time to address some of my wonderful reviewers. It's so much more personal isn't it? Especially when I really want to have little convo's w/ each of you! These are my responses to the last chapter's reviewers! Nine reviews, nine responses! Thanks for all the support, guys!!!  
  
Annoriel: Hell, yeah! Girl power all the way! LOL! Sirius doesn't know what he's gotten into! *giggles* Joey is sooo in control.  
  
Jenstarz: Hehehe! I know, I can barely picture her playing quidditch either! But you know, Weald was *coaxed* into putting her on the team . . . However, we will find out pretty soon that it wasn't just that that got Catrina on the team . . . *wink* Hehehe! (OH! And I totally love legally blonde, too! Have you seen the second one yet? I thought it was adorable!)  
  
DPhoenix: Thanks so much for the support! I love it when I actually get people wanting to read my next chapter! Hehehe! Hope you enjoy this next one, too!  
  
Emmah-Leah: Yup! I was wondering how obvious I had made it as to who was going to be the new chaser! *grin* You're catching on to me! Wonder what else you'll predict.  
  
Angel: Yes, yes! 'Squirm' is a perfect word to use! Bwahahaha!  
  
Greenfairie: No worries! More Remus and you to come! LOL. Any suggestions, just let me know what's on your mind! *wink* After all, It's your relationship! Hahaha! But I'm serious about the suggestion thing . . . I do have some ideas up my sleeve, but I'm curious to hear what you think too . . . maybe they'll work together!  
  
Mercury: Thanks for the awesome support! I definitely felt that was a mile stone too! And judging by your little *prediction* (Whether you knew it was a prediction or not) about 'you-know-what' . . . I can definitely tell you'd do well in divination class with Trelawney!  
  
Casco: I'm glad you're enjoying my work! I really hope that you'll find this next chapter to your enjoyment, too!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Para mi amiga nueva, Sakura:  
  
Sportzjunkie: Hola Chica! Que tal? Ojala que te gusta este capitula! JaJaJaJaJa! *winks*  
  
Sakura: *shakes head and laughs* Callate, Por favor. Tu eres loca en la cabeza!  
  
Sportzjunkie: Yo soy muy intelegente, no?  
  
Sakura: *stifles laugh* Si, tu eres *muy* intelegente! [insert Spanish sarcasm here]  
  
Sportzjunkie: LOL. I've created my own version of talking in Spanish for those of us who really can't: Just do your best to get the point across, then cross your fingers and hope that Spanish speaking people can understand you! I like to call it 'Espanol para idiotas!' = ]  
  
Thanks for the help Sakura! My mistakes on the last chapter have been corrected. *grin* You are my new Spanish speakin' buddy! Let's just say I blame Senora Malone (my Spanish teacher) for making me so damn incomprehensible when it comes to the language! Anywayz, Hope you like this new chapter!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* And to all of you:  
  
Okay . . . so this chapter has a lot of emotions running through it, and I won't lie to you . . . most of the emotions are pretty frustrating for Joey. I'm sorry, but I just had to write this chapter! It was important to me, and hit me deeper than I really thought it would . . . yes, I'm serious . . . I was actually feeling what Joey was feeling as she went through this stuff. It's just amazing how stories affect you when you write or read them! Hope you guys can understand what I mean when you read this chapter, too! ; }  
  
Anywayz, to stop boring you, here is the chapter, and I hope you all enjoy it! = ]  
  
"Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit."  
Kahlil Gibran  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Joey suddenly became very aware of the fact that her mouth was hanging open in shock. She quickly snapped it shut as Catrina Strumpet flashed her a very self-righteous looking sneer. Joey glared daggers back at the little whore in front of her. How could Weald do this to the team?! This girl was not only an inevitable shit-load of trouble, but Joey just had an odd little suspicion that this girl would not be able to play quidditch for beans!  
  
Weald began introducing Catrina to the team, spending a little time telling everyone about her and how she had just transferred to Hogwarts . . . blah, blah, blah. Joey wasn't paying attention. She was too busy to listen, because now she was giving Weald an uncontrollable, fuming look. Some of the nicknames that were running through her head right now were nothing short of a soap-worthy mouth cleansing.  
  
Suddenly, a quick, but, to some extent, mild elbow was found at the side of her rib cage. She looked up at her guilty assailant and found James sitting next to her on the bench. He looked livid. This made Joey feel somewhat better, knowing that she wasn't the only one who was angry about this. James leaned over and began whispering into her ear, completely to the ignorance of Weald, as he buzzed on about the *fabulous* Catrina.  
  
"Can you believe this?!" he callously groaned under his breath. "This is ridiculous!"  
  
"I know," Joey whispered back.  
  
"I mean, the guy fucks bunches of girls each week . . . why on earth would he put this girl on the team just because she gave it up?" Joey shrugged at James' thoughts. The situation was a little too suspicious to ignore.  
  
"Maybe we should ask him about it," Joey suggested. James nodded and then was quiet.  
  
They waited for Weald to finish his rambling, and, finally, when everyone was walking out to the quidditch pitch for practice to begin, James and Joey held Weald back. He looked a little puzzled at the expressions on their faces.  
  
"What's up, guys?" he asked with a bit of a worried tone. The locker room was now empty except for the three of them.  
  
"Weald, what the hell is that floozy doing on our team? You can't be serious about having her as one of our chasers . . . even if you did get into her pants for the deal!" James looked too angry to really care about what he had just said to his captain. He was lucky that Weald seemed more proud of himself for having people aware of his *relations,* than he was angry about James' disrespectful tone.  
  
"It's more than that, Potter," he said quietly, as if he didn't want anyone else to hear him. Joey just stood there, wondering if she should leave before she had to hear any more about Weald's sex life. "It was Dumbledore and McGonagall who came to me to talk about Catrina being on the quidditch team." He paused for a moment to let his comment settle in.  
  
"What did they say?"  
  
"Well, apparently, when Catrina transferred here, her parents had a talk with Dumbledore, and told him about why she was relocated to a new school . . . It seems that she had a few . . . *problems* at her old school." Weald gave the two listeners a very knowing look as he continued. "And since the Strumpets are extremely, powerfully rich people in the Wizarding world, they decided to send Catrina here, *bribe* Dumbledore with some huge funding, and hope for her to turn her life around . . . so to speak. "Of course, knowing how understanding and trusting Dumbledore is, he took Catrina in, and promised to try his best to help her out some. This is where the subject of quidditch came in . . . Dumbledore thought since we were still down a player, it would be best for her to be on the team to 'help get her into the house spirit'" Weald said, imitating Dumbledore's voice with his last little quote.  
  
"And that's why she's on the team?!" Joey snapped. "Because Dumbledore felt bad for her?!!" Weald nodded sadly.  
  
"And that's not the worst of it. This girl has absolutely NO TALENT on a broomstick! It's pathetic to even watch!" Both James and Joey groaned. This season was really going to suck.  
  
"So what are we going to do about it?" James asked with a worried tone. A sick little smirk appeared on Weald's face.  
  
"Make the best of a bad situation, of course!" He said, sounding quite a bit more cheerful than he had a few moments before.  
  
"I see you've already taken to that suggestion," Joey said with a disgusted tone, as she got another whiff of the 'rubbed-off' perfume that was clinging to Weald's scent.  
  
"Well, what can I say?" Weald grinned, the smudge of red lipstick more prominent on his mouth that ever before. "I had to make her think she got on the team some other way besides pity. Dumbledore forbade me to tell her about the little conversation that went on between him and her parents . . . my idea just seemed to be a little more. . ."  
  
"Repulsive? Sick? Deceitful? Take your pick!" Joey spat out in his face. James elbowed her sharply in the side again, and his eyes flashed as if warning her not to get on Weald's bad side. Joey wasn't one for sticking up for sluts like Catrina, but there are just some situations where girls need to stick up for one another.  
  
But Weald just laughed. He seemed so proud of himself for what he had *accomplished.*  
  
"For your information, *Joe* . . ." He said her name with extra emphasis, almost like he was mocking her, ". . . she came onto me more than I came onto her . . . just like all the other girls do." He cocked an eyebrow and flashed her a suggestive smirk. Joey felt like throwing up. Sensing the tension, James quickly stepped in.  
  
"Yeah . . . you keep telling yourself that, Weald," he gave a fake laugh as the other boy glared at him. Then he quickly grabbed Joey's arm and hauled her after him, out towards the quidditch pitch. "You coming to practice, Captain?"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
That evening's practice was excruciatingly tiring . . . at least for some people. Weald had split everyone up, so that everyone got to practice working with moves corresponding to their own particular positions. James spent the time practicing with releasing and catching the snitch. Robert, the keeper, spent the time blocking the shots that the chasers, Nick, Joseph, and Catrina, were throwing at him. (Though, Catrina took about one shot and gave up immediately because she had broken a nail. All of the boys rolled their eyes at her over reaction to the small mishap, but, nevertheless, she was now frantically filing it down to prevent further breakage. This did NOT please Weald.) And the person who was being worked the hardest of all, was Joey.  
  
She was working with Weald because he was the other beater. They were positioned about twenty feet from each other, and were continuously hitting a bludger back and forward between themselves. This match-up would have been fine considering that Joey could have easily held her own against the big bloke, but the fact that Weald's broom was MUCH faster than Joey's old school one, and the fact that his club was MUCH stronger than Joey's grubby school one, caused Joey to be working about ten times harder than he was.  
  
Weald soon realized the difference in their equipment levels, and thought it would be best to take advantage of the situation. He would purposely keep hitting the bludger far to the sides of Joey, causing her to have to dive her broom downward. The stupid old Dust-hop broom she was on was no match for Weald's Cleansweep 260, so she nearly always missed his cheap, low shots.  
  
Not only was her broom a piece of shit, but the wooden club she was using was too old and rotten-stricken, that she couldn't even pack a punch when she *did* make contact with the bludger. Weald's steel club would smack the pieces out of the bludger, and have it barreling back towards Joey before she could even regain her balance from the effort she had to put into her club to even return his last hit!  
  
Overall, Joey found that quidditch practice was a living hell if you didn't have the right equipment. She spent the entire time wishing she had the stuff she had mail-ordered already, but never once did she open her mouth and complain. She simply kept her cool, and went and retrieved the bludger every time it spun off into another direction after she had whiffed it.  
  
She couldn't help, however, when the utter frustration crept over her face when Weald decided to sharpen the rules. He said that if she kept playing as bad as she was, he was going to make her do three pushups and run a lap around the quidditch field for every time she missed it. Yes. You heard me right: RUN, not fly. Joey found herself descending to the ground before you could say 'fuck this,' just so she could sprint a lap around the pitch, complete three push-ups, and ascend back up into the flying hell of doom.  
  
The main problem with this routine, however, was that the more running and push-ups she did, the more tired she would get, and the more shots she would miss. It was a never ending cycle of running, 'push-up'ing, whiffing, and, most of all, cursing. Even when Weald missed a few shots, he wouldn't have to do anything extra besides go and retrieve the ball! Joey was pissed. This was utterly unfair in every way.  
  
By the end of the practice, she had hit sad a total of fifteen shots made at her, missed a total of forty-five shots made at her, sprinted a total of thirty-five times around the quidditch pitch, and done a grand total of 105 pushups. There was no justice. No one could believe the torture Weald was putting her through. They all felt bad for Joey, but no one could say anything to Weald, because they were afraid that he would put them through the same thing.  
  
When the team entered the locker room after practice that night, she was talking to no one. There was an expression of pure loathing across her face, and all she wanted to do was scream her throat hoarse. Joey stumbled over to the girls' side of the locker room, grabbed a towel, and headed for the girls' showers.  
  
Catrina said that she refused to change in such a 'repulsive' environment, and left to go shower up in her dorm. It didn't matter anyways. The little 'Barbie by-product' hadn't done a single thing to physically exert herself in practice, anyways! That is, unless you consider filing your nail down frantically and spending time flying 'side-saddle' on you broom, tiring.  
  
Joey climbed into the hot shower in the locker room and just let the hot water poor down her face. The warm, steamy water pattered down onto her cheeks, and began rinsing the dirt away from her wind-whipped skin. Her tonsils felt swollen. It was like there was a huge, stinging lump caught in the back of her throat, and she couldn't swallow it away.  
  
She knew what it was. It was all the emotions she had been storing up inside of her, trying to leak out from her aching body. She pressed her eyes tightly together as her face scrunched up, and finally gave into the emotions her worn-out and exhausted body was fighting. The painful tears began pouring from her eyes, and she held her breath as all of the anger welled up into her head.  
  
The warm water was now mixing with the salty tears on her face as she slightly opened her mouth to exhale. The shuttering breath came out as a quiet sob, and she put her hands to her face to muffle the sound. Though the boys were on the other side of the locker room, they would still be able to hear someone bawling their eyes out, and that was exactly what she didn't want.  
  
She just stood there, smothering her sobbing into the shower, under the hot jet. She tried multiple times to get a hold of herself, but it was no use. She absolutely HATED feeling bad for herself, but the frustration that had built up in her all throughout that practice was now finding an outlet through her tears. There was no other way.  
  
After she heard a few more people leave the locker room, she finally stopped crying and decided to start washing her hair. The aroma of the shampoo caught hold of the steam rising off the water, and gently wafted all around the girls' showering hall. The scent was therapeutic to Joey as her breathing finally returned to normal, and her depression subsided. Sometimes, all it takes to feel a bit better is a good cry.  
  
Joey heard the locker room door open and close a few more times, and when she was almost positive that she was the only person left in the locker room, she finally turned off the shower. Joey listened carefully for a moment, and when she heard silence, she decided that she was finally alone. That was how she wanted it.  
  
She had been under the water jet for about twenty-five minutes, and most of that time she had spent weeping. Practice had gone on for two hours, and it was now almost eight-thirty. Lucky for her, she had already eaten dinner, so now she only had to go up to her dorm and get a start on that evening's homework before she turned in for the night. *Goodie.*  
  
Seventh years' common-room curfew wasn't until ten o'clock, so Joey took her sweet-ass time wringing out her hair. She trudged over to her towel, wrapped it around her body and tucked a flap in so she wouldn't have to hold it up with her arms. She exhaustedly gathered up her practice robes and stumbled out from the steamy showering hall, into the icy-cold air of the locker room.  
  
She shivered as she walked bare-footed around the locker room, over to where her locker was situated. When she turned the corner into her section, she found none other than James Potter lying on his back, stretched out along the bench. When he saw her, he sat up and gave her a weak smile. It didn't really bother him that she was wearing nothing but a towel . . . to him, Joey was more like a close sister than someone who really turned him on.  
  
She returned his smile with an even weaker one, and strode over to her locker, opened it and started pulling out some clothes.  
  
"Hey, Joey," he whispered. "You okay?" She nodded silently. He didn't need to get her crying again.  
  
"I'm fine," she croaked, her voice betraying her obvious lie.  
  
"Listen. I don't know what was up with Weald tonight . . . I tried talking to him . . . told him he needed to lighten up until you got some real equipment . . . It's just-"  
  
"Thanks," she said flatly, cutting him off before he could say anything else. James had a hurt look in his eyes.  
  
"You know, you've got some real talent . . . I just wish that Weald would get off his high-horse and make an effort to really train you . . . not kill you!" he paused for a moment. "It'll get better, Joey. I promise . . . please don't quit."  
  
Joey stopped rummaging through her locker for a moment at his last comment. She couldn't deny the fact that the option of quitting had run through her mind so many times that evening.  
  
"So what if I do?!" she spat. "Who would care?" James looked almost hysterical at her comment. He was shocked that she would even ask such a thing.  
  
"Joey! The whole team would! Everyone on the team is really eager to see what kind of a player you'll develop into! We were all angry with how Weald treated you, and we all made sure he realized that. We haven't had a second beater on this team as good as you in . . . a REALLY long time! Please don't quit!" James grabbed one of Joey's hands that had been dangling limply by her side. His voice was soothing again. "I promise that Weald will come around eventually and accept the fact that a girl, who's never seriously played quidditch in her life, might be as good as him. His ego is just a little too at jeopardy here! He can't handle it now . . . but he will! Promise me you won't quit!"  
  
Joey was silent for a moment. She looked down at James' pleading face, and a small, half-hearted smirk turned up at the left side of her mouth. She nodded slowly. "Alright," she whispered, sounding very unenthusiastic, "I promise."  
  
James grinned and pulled her into a hug. "Good!" he laughed. "Now I'll let you get dressed, and we can walk up to the common-room together."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Joey and James made their way up to the Gryffindor common room in better spirits than they had been in all through practice. Joey didn't feel so emotionally exhausted, and she was actually looking forward to a practice where she would have her real equipment with her. Weald will pay the day she gets her new equipment. She would work him ragged.  
  
They arrived at the fat lady, gave her the pass-word, and Joey climbed in the portrait hole, just behind James. When they were about to enter the dimly lit common room, James stopped flat in his tracks, causing Joey to slam sharply into his back.  
  
"Owww, James! Can't you go a single day without causing me to crash into you?!"  
  
"Shhh! Joey, look at Remus! What the hell is he doing . . . with her?!!"  
  
Joey glanced over James shoulder, looking for Remus. She spotted him sitting at the common room's homework table with a potions book in front of him, and, suddenly, memories of McShailty's punishment flooded into her brain. She cursed silently to herself. Remus and she had decided to take turns each night to tutor McShailty's Gryffindor students who needed it, and tonight was Remus' turn because tomorrow was his detention. Right now, however, it appeared that Remus was getting the full blast of torture from his punishment. Sitting right next to him, hovering over a potions book, was none other than a freshly showered, Catrina Strumpet.  
  
"Poor Remus," she whispered in James' ear. "This is our punishment for hugging in class today."  
  
"What do you mean by *your* punishment. It looks like Remus is the only one who's suffering!" James laughed under his breath. Joey elbowed him.  
  
"We're taking turns each night. I'm not sure how long it'll go for, but it will go on for a while . . ."  
  
"Wonder who you'll get stuck with," James teased. Joey's suddenly stopped in her train of thought. Oh SHIT! Who was she going to get stuck with?! She hadn't thought about that. Surely there wouldn't be that many students who needed help with potions . . . she'd be stuck with her person for a very, very long time.  
  
"Omigod," Joey whispered. "What will I do if it's somebody I totally despise?!"  
  
"Well, at least you know it won't be Catrina!" he laughed. James accidentally said this a little too loud, and Remus and the 'Barbie look- alike,' sitting next to him, looked up.  
  
"Hey guys!" Remus called. He looked extremely enthusiastic to have someone interrupt his little 'alone time' with Catrina. "How was practice?!"  
  
"Oh . . ." Joey began with a very unenthusiastic tone. ". . . it was-"  
  
"Just peachy!" Catrina scoffed arrogantly. "Though, I think Madam Suck over there has missed more balls than she's hit . . ." she paused for a moment as a rather bitchy smile crept up her cheek. ". . .hmmmm . . . kind of like real life I imagine."  
  
Joey glared at Catrina like she was about to lunge at her and slit her throat. But then, eventually, Joey smiled too . . . though, it looked more like the evil smirk she got when she was thinking something really evil.  
  
"Yes . . . well I have to admit it was pretty amusing to watch you, too . . . sitting side-saddle . . . refusing to even straddle you broom. Though that confuses me a bit . . ." Joey paused for a moment as she purposely scrunched up her face and cocked her head to the side like she was really pondering something. ". . . why would you bother keeping your legs together during practice, when you don't seem to implement that principle off the field very much?" There was a very loud snort of laughter, and everyone in the room soon became very aware of the fact the James had busted up laughing at Joey's remark.  
  
Catrina shot up out of her chair, and stomped over to the spot right in front of Joey. The girls were mere inches apart, and the ear-splitting silence that had settled in the room now seemed very uncomfortable.  
  
The silence was broken in a split second as the skin on the palm of Catrina's hand made stinging contact with the flawless skin of Joey's face. Owwww . . .  
  
Joey's eyes snapped shut as she refused to flinch from the bitch slapping she had just received. Catrina looked half-way between the emotions of rage and pride as she felt smug for slapping Joey, but angry at the girl's lack of response to it. This would not do for her. There had to be some other way to get under Joey's skin. As Joey's eyes remained pasted shut, refusing to open as they might betray her by watering from the stinging, Catrina leaned in so that she was now whispering into her enemy's ear.  
  
"You know it's inevitable . . . I've stolen your man once . . . and I sure as hell am going to do it again." Joey's eyes snapped open in fury, and Catrina pulled away, a little scared at the flames that were now raging in her enemy's eyes. It took a split second for Joey to wind up, and before anyone knew it, Catrina found herself lying flat on her back on the common room's stone floor, clutching her nose that was now trickling with blood. Her eyes were clamped shut, and tons of tears were running down her face.  
  
Suddenly, the girl could feel a very tight pulling on her long blond hair that was sprawled out, fanning all around her. She winced as she opened her eyes and looked up to see Joey's tall frame glaring down at her from full height. Joey was still wearing her muddy quidditch boots, and now one of them was pinning down Catrina's head by her blond locks, and mucking up her once freshly-washed hair.  
  
"If you EVER say anything like that to me again . . ." Joey was seething with anger, ". . . I will see to it that I make your life a living hell . . . do you understand me?!" Catrina just stared up at Joey refusing to do or say anything. This was not okay. Joey pressed her shoe down harder on Catrina's hair, causing the girl to grimace as her hair was pulled tighter to the boot. "Well?!"  
  
Catrina nodded frantically, only worried about how much it hurt to have her hair being slowly yanked out of her head by a boot. This seemed to be good enough for Joey, because she drew back her shoe and grabbed her book bag that she had left on the table from earlier. She glanced over at Remus when he spoke.  
  
"Sirius is in his dorm," he said, looking at Joey. Then he turned his gaze to James and said, "Lily's in her dorm."  
  
Both Joey and James nodded at Remus, and then exchanged understanding glances at each other. Then they head up in opposite directions: James towards the girls' dorms, and Joey towards the boys'. This night was too hectic for their own good, and all either one of them wanted to do was curl up with the ones they loved.  
  
Phew!!! Got a little intense for a minute, there! *grin* ( ( ( That's the way [uh-huh, uh-huh] I *like* it [uh-huh, uh-huh] ) ) ) Alrighty!!! . . . so I hope you guys enjoyed that, and there's much more Sirius/Joey mush to come . . . You didn't forget that she's on her way up to his dorm, did you?! *giddy laughter* And James is on his way to Lily's dorm . . . but do you guys really want me to write about that at all? I'm not sure if I really want to get into the whole "what do Lily and James do behind the curtain?" thing . . . but I guess it's up to you guys! Just hit that review button, and send me your opinions! They really do matter!!! *wink* Thank y'all much! And much luv to all who review! = ]  
  
-Sara (a.k.a Sportzjunkie) 


	22. Interruptions

Sakura: Muchas gracias para el apoyo! Si usted continua revisar, continuare escribir! And don't worry, I wanted to kill that puta, tambien . . . pero arruinaria el cuento! *guino* Hablare a usted luego!  
  
Blonded: Glad you enjoyed it . . . LOL! There should be more of that to come! *wink*  
  
Mercury: I just had to laugh when I read your review! You've got to stop predicting things, or no one will want to read my story anymore!!! *grin* Thanks for the awesome compliment! I'm trying to really set a certain feeling for each of the characters . . . good to hear it's working!!!  
  
Jenstarz: I know! I hate Catrina too! And don't get me started on Weald . . . but I have a feeling about where I'm taking this story, and I think it'll be interesting . . . at least I *think* . . . LOL!!! (p.s. Make sure to tell me how you liked the movie!)  
  
Sweet intentionz: *evil cackle* Yes, yes!!! Life a living hell if she steps out of line again . . . well, I'm gonna have to live up to the threat, I guess . . . haven't quite figured out what I'm gonna do with that, yet . . . but guess both of us are just going to have to see where my crazy typing fingers take me!!!  
  
SiriusLvr: Glad you enjoyed the little brawl!!! *grins evilly* I'm sure they'll be more of that to come . . . Bwahahahaha! *clears throat; straightens self out* Yes, well, thanks for the flattering remarks! You've made me blush! *wink*  
  
Greenfairie: Way ahead of ya, babe! *wink* Hehehe! (actually, the word is 'lycanthropy,' . . . it has an *R* in there . . . but I'm sure you knew that ; ) But don't worry, those . . . *issues* will present themselves soon enough *grin*  
  
Emmah-Leah/ marauder-luver-forever: Yeah . . . well, as a matter of fact, I really *was* considering off-ing Catrina after she pissed Joey off like that . . . *nervous laughter* But, you know . . . that would just ruin the rest of the story, huh?! *grin* And I really liked your fic!!! Lily and James stories are so much fun to read, and I like your plot line . . . can't wait to see your story really develop into something!!! Sorry about the extrememly, overly long review I wrote you! *embarrassed giggles* I can't really control how much I like to talk . . . it's a strength and a weakness, I guess . . .And thanks so much for telling me about your story!!! I love it when ppl recommend fics to me! ( p.s. Hope you enjoyed your camping trip! ; )  
  
Dana Whelks: Glad you like it! I'm just totally in love with Joey's character, and I think that Sirius and her make the perfect couple!!! *giggles* I love Sirius, and I really wanted to create a story where he ends up w/ a girl who he really deserves! Thanks for the compliment! Means a lot!  
  
Fantasy4: *blush* Stop it, you're embarrassing me! LOL. Thanks a bunch . . . hope you like this next one!  
  
Casco: Glad you feel that you're getting to know Joey better!!! I feel the same way!  
  
Annoriel: Hehehehe! Hope you don't know too many people like Catrina . . . that would REALLY suck! But I am glad that you liked the chapter, even if my malicious streak is beginning to rub off on you . . . *wink*  
  
Kiwi: Hahaha! If I had or even KNEW a guy like Sirius . . . *phew*!!! I would not even let him out of my sight! *sniggers* He's *way* to cute for his own good! *purrr* He's my puppy dog . . . at least I love to write him like that . . . Tall, dark, handsome . . . killer abs, a broad chest, and never ending sea of black, tousled hair. Not to mention intelligent and as fun as hell to play with . . . *sigh* sounds like I'm ordering a pizza! LOL! Hope you enjoy this chapter . . .  
  
*Cheers to all us girls who need a guy like Sirius!!! Hahahaha!*  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* And to everyone:  
  
I'm goin' to Disney Land and Universal Studios for a little while. . . won't be here to update for a few days . . . but I'm sure you'll survive! LOL! I'll try to write you a long chapter . . . we'll see how it goes!  
  
This chapter is going to be full of Sirius/Joey mush! *giggles* I really like this chapter just because I've gotten to talking a bit about where Joey comes from, and you really get a sense of where Joey's and Sirius' relationship was before this story began. Then there's also the more intimate parts that I always like writing . . . so we'll just see what you guys think of it, I guess!  
  
Hopefully I will come home to a lot of reviews! I love you all sooooo much for reviewing my work . . . I seriously thrive off of your comments . . . whether they're good or bad. *wink* Hope you will all consider writing me a nice looonnnggg review so that I can sit in front of my computer when I come back and satisfy the severe fanfiction withdrawal I will experience while I'm gone . . . LOL. It's true! I don't know how I'll survive w/out fanfiction while I'm gone *tear* . . . pretty sad, I know! But hope you will wish me a good trip! Thanks, friends! = ]  
  
-Sara (a.k.a. Sportzjunkie)  
  
You love simply because you cannot help it.  
Kim Anderson  
  
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Joey climbed the steps up to the boys' dorms really slowly. She felt like shit. Though there was still adrenaline pumping through her system from the nasty right hook she popped in Catrina's nose, the blond slut's last words were still ringing in her ears:  
  
"You know it's inevitable . . . I've stolen your man once . . . and I sure as hell am going to do it again."  
  
What the fuck was the bitch playing at?! Joey knew for damn well that Sirius would never cheat on her . . . but those words stung in the back of her mind like a strong shot of fire whiskey feels on the back of the throat. The emotions were too much, and Joey could feel the all too familiar tears burning at the back of her eyes again. She stopped on the stairs and leaned up against the wall. She was clear out of view of the common room, so she didn't have to worry about anyone (mainly Catrina) seeing her. She pressed her eyes closed and just tried to catch her breath. There was no way she was going to let what Catrina had said get to her. That bitch just didn't deserve her tears.  
  
With a deep breath, Joey managed to calm down and open her eyes back up before any tears fell. She hiked her book bag up on her shoulder and continued up the stairs. Stopping just outside Sirius' dorm, she smoothed down her half-dried hair and patted her cheeks to get rid of the redness that had built up during her little brawl in the common room.  
  
Without knocking, she pushed the heavy door open and stepped into the brightly lit dorm room. Sirius was sitting at a desk in the corner of his room, books sprawled all over the floor around him, and papers messily laid out on the desk before him. He was attentively scribbling on the sheet of parchment in front of him while periodically glancing down at the text book on his lap. Flam was sitting cheerfully at the corner of his desk, gingerly nibbling at the edge of the silvery-eyed boy's parchment.  
  
Sirius seemed to not have noticed the door opening, and Joey just stood there and smiled at the sight of him in front of her. His hair was thoroughly tousled, and he heaved a sigh as he glanced down at the text book on his lap again. He bit the edge of his bottom lip and ran a hand through his dark coffee hair before continuing to write the long essay he was obviously trying to finish. Joey practically had to stifle a laugh at the fact the Sirius was so wrapped up in his essay that he didn't even notice her standing there. She could have stood there and stared at him all night. In her eyes, this messy, unkempt boy in front of her was the most attractive thing she could have asked to look at.  
  
Before delaying any longer, Joey pushed door shut. Sirius suddenly looked up from his essay with a rather startled look across his face. The expression quickly went from startle to pleasantly surprised when he saw who it was that came to visit him.  
  
"Joey!" he said as he practically jumped out of his chair and hurried over to pull her into a hug. "I was hoping you'd come by . . . I was hoping to spend some time with you tonight considering you have to tutor tomorrow night! It's only a quarter to nine . . . we can finish our homework together if you'd like!"  
  
When he pulled her out of the hug, he looked down into her eyes and gave her a warm smile. "I'd like that . . ." she said before taking a step closer and pulling her face in closer to his. A pleasant smirk pushed up the sides of his face as he leaned his head in closer, too. Joey's eyes pulled shut as she could practically feel his warm breath brush past her lips.  
  
There was a pause long enough that caused Joey to crack her eyes open in curiosity to see what the hell Sirius was doing instead of finally kissing her. She opened her eyes to meet his gaze that was fixed dreamily on her face. He was merely admiring her beauty while she impatiently waited for him to push his lips to hers. When he realized that her expression was telling him that she was getting impatient, a broad grin crept over his handsome features as he continued to swim through the splendor of her sparkling jade tinted eyes.  
  
She shook her head slowly and her eyes narrowed as she tried to suppress the smile that was infecting her features, as well. Impatience getting the best of her, Joey wrapped her right arm around his neck and forcefully pulled his lips to hers. Sirius' smirk was completely consumed as he was drawn into a strong, passionate kiss. Exhaling through his nose, he deepened the kiss and wrapped his arms affectionately around her petite waist.  
  
There was so much emotion in the kiss, Joey let out a soft moan as he bent his head in the other direction and continued to roam his tongue around her mouth. Slowly moving his hands from her waist, he cupped her jaw with them before sliding his hands along her neck and running his fingers through her silky hair.  
  
Joey allowed herself to get completely lost in the kiss. Sirius' caring devotion to her was her best outlet to try and forget all her problems and just get wrapped up in the moment. As all of the emotions raced through her heart and mind, however, the pang of upset that Catrina had caused earlier cast a sudden shadow over Joey's nerves when she remembered what the whore had said to her. Joey closed her eyes tighter and pressed herself even harder into the kiss as she let out a faint whimper that she figured would go unnoticed. Wrong!  
  
Sirius hesitantly pulled out of the kiss and looked apprehensively into her eyes for a moment. Very perceptively, he could sense the certain upset of emotions running through her mind, and the tears that were now burning at the back of her eyes were a dead give away to his suspicions.  
  
"Joey, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly as he stared thoroughly into her eyes looking for some clue. He moved his hands down to grip both of her shoulders firmly, yet gently. Feeling as though he was reading her mind through her eyes, Joey broke his eye contact and stared at the floor. She didn't want him to know that the thing that was bothering her had to do with what another girl had said about him.  
  
Still keeping her eyes on the floor, she shook her head firmly as if to convince herself more than him that nothing was wrong. "I'm fine," she lied quietly. "Really, I am."  
  
"Joey . . ." Sirius was using the tone that he only reserved for James when he was trying to coax some information out of him. "Come, on . . . you can tell me! I want you to tell me." She finally pulled her eyes up to meet his gaze, and gave him a weak smile. But she still refused to tell him anything.  
  
"Really, Sirius. Nothing is wrong!" she pulled out of his grasp, walked over, and plopped herself down on the edge of his bed. Trying desperately hard to choke down the tears she was trying to hide, she continued, "No one said anything to upset me!" She suddenly scrunched up her face as she realized that she should have chosen her words a little more carefully. Now he really knew something was bothering her.  
  
"Oh, shit," he breathed to himself more than aloud as he walked over and popped a squat right in front of her. He looked up into her face that was trying to focus on the floor of his dorm. "Was it something Weald said?! Because I swear to God if that fucking dick weed even looks at you funny, I'll punch him so hard he'll have to stick a toothbrush up his ass just to brush his teeth!"  
  
Joey coughed on her tears as she started laughing. She impatiently brushed away the tear that started to roll down her cheek and tried to sniff away any others that threatened to fall. Whether Sirius ever meant to be funny in a depressing situation, he certainly always could make her feel somewhat better just by being himself. He looked into her eyes and gave her a feeble smile as she continued to laugh.  
  
"Please tell me . . ." he whispered as he pulled himself up and sat on the bed next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Am I going to have to hunt down Weald for you?" he tried to coax more laughing out of her, which he was successful in doing.  
  
"No, no . . . that's not exactly why I'm upset," she admitted. "Although Weald was a major prick in practice today, I think it'll get better . . ."  
  
"Then why are you crying?" he asked in a very soothing tone. Joey leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Sirius, do you remember that one blond girl that we caught Amos snogging with at the ball?"  
  
"The one that freakishly resembled an over-done Barbie doll?"  
  
"Yeah, that's the one. She's the new chaser on our quidditch team." Sirius was now rubbing her back slowly, giving her his complete attention. "She's really nasty to me whenever she talks to me . . . I just can't even stand to be near her." Joey heaved a sigh and continued on. "Well, I ended up planting a right punch squarely into her nose." Sirius let out a burst of surprised laughter when she said this, and when Joey still seemed rather serious, he quickly sobered himself and continued to listen.  
  
"Alright . . . so then what was it she said that made you give her a nasty taste of your knuckles?" he asked with an amused tone that he didn't even bother to cover.  
  
"She said . . . she said . . ." Joey lifted her head off his shoulder and bit her lip. She couldn't bring herself to tell Sirius what the bitch had said to her! Joey was mostly worried about how Sirius would take it. If he wouldn't be angry with the fact that Joey was actually feeling uncertain about his commitment, then would he be insulted . . . or hurt, even?  
  
Sirius bent over and planted a soft kiss on Joey's temple. She sighed deeply and pressed her eyes closed. 'Damn me' she thought. He was too good for her. How could she have even been worried that Sirius wouldn't be loyal to her?! . . . There was no way that he would ever cheat on her, let alone with someone like Catrina Strumpet, and Joey knew that. So why was she getting so damn worked up about this? She took another deep breath and decided to just go for it, and get it out in the open.  
  
"She said that it was inevitable that she was going to steal you away from me," she sputtered out so quickly she was worried that Sirius hadn't even caught all of it.  
  
There was a long pause before Sirius did the very thing that Joey least expected him to do. He broke down laughing. Actually, "broke down" is probably an understatement. What Sirius did was slowly deteriorate as the laughing spasms took control of him. He was laughing so hard, that eventually his fits of laughter became silent as he continued to gasp for air between spasms. Joey just sat their in shocked silence at his reaction, and remained that way as she stared at her boyfriend, who was now clutching his sides cracking up.  
  
"Why is that funny?" she asked with a rather exasperated tone. Sirius was now regaining composure, and he was resting his arm on Joey shoulder as he caught his breath.  
  
"Because . . ." he said gasping for another lungful of air. "Here I was expecting you to tell me that she insulted your muggle father or something like that . . . I never expected it to be about some pathetic little threat having to do with me!" he took another deep breath before continuing. ". . . but never the less, I'm glad you socked her . . . that girl needed to get laid into . . . and I mean that in the sense that she's *not* used to, seeing by how many guys she's been with!"  
  
Joey cracked a smile. She was so relieved that he wasn't angry. It just made her realize how much of an easy going guy Sirius was. "So you aren't mad?" she asked hesitantly.  
  
"Mad?! Why on earth would I be mad? You should know by now that that bitch is all talk, Joey. And why would I even take a notice in her? . . . I'm the luckiest guy in the school!" Joey's smile broadened, as she gave him a teasingly smug look.  
  
"And why might you be the luckiest guy in the school?" she asked good- naturedly, well aware of the fact that he was about to say "because you're my girlfriend." But Sirius was going to have some fun first.  
  
"Because . . . I have nice teeth . . ." he joked, stating the most random thought that popped into his head. " . . . and sweet, mysterious eyes . . . and sexy, dark hair." His smile was now reaching up towards his ears. Joey narrowed her eyes at him.  
  
"You mean *messy* dark hair, my friend. I'm not quite sure who you think you're talking about when you say 'sexy'!" she laughed.  
  
"But you know the *real* reason I'm so lucky?" he asked with a very serious expression on his face as he got off the bed and stood up in front of her.  
  
"Why's that?" she asked, the smile on her face widening a little.  
  
"Because I have *you* to tickle, of course!" he laughed before lounging at her on the bed. But Joey was too quick for him. Letting out an excited scream, she did a quick backwards roll off the opposite side of his bed and ran across the room. Sirius came after her, so she jumped up onto Remus' neatly made bed and grabbed one of the pillows that was sitting lightly up against the headboard.  
  
Quickly noticing the new weapon she gripped tightly to, Sirius grabbed a fluffy pillow off of James' bed and held it poised to strike. Joey was now standing unbalanced on Remus' bed, holding the pillow over her shoulder like she was ready to belt him one, as well. Sirius charged forward and got a sharp smack in the face with the feather pillow Joey had swung at him. Laughing joyfully, he gripped tighter to his pillow and started beating her wildly on the butt with his pillow.  
  
Both of them were laughing uncontrollably as soft feathers flew all around the room in a blizzard of white fluff. Joey dropped down to her butt and rolled off Remus' bed before running over and jumping up to a standing position on Peter's bed. Once again, she got the first cheap blow to Sirius' head before he took the base attack and went for her legs. Joey was screaming gleefully every few moments as the fight went on, and she kept getting whapped playfully with the feathery pillows. She successfully continued to mess Sirius' hair up even worse, and Sirius continued to keep knocking her off her feet to lay flat on her back before she would roll off again and hop onto someone else's bed.  
  
This pattern continued for a while before both Joey and Sirius collapsed onto his bed laughing and gasping for air. "You scream so much!" he chuckled. "People are going to be wondering what the hell we are doing in here!" Joey gave a very loud contemptuous laugh, and, gripping the pillow she still had in her hands, she wound up one more time and smacked him forcefully in the face before getting up off the bed, leaving the pillow on his head.  
  
"You are such a guy, sometimes!" she laughed before walking over and picking up her school bag and plopping down on the chair at his desk. Sirius pulled the pillow off his face and sat up, a cheesy grin still plastered to his well defined features.  
  
"And you, my dear, are such a spaz sometimes! Look what you've done to our room!" he laughed as he glanced around at all of the beds Joey had jumped on and messed up.  
  
"Hey!" she giggled. "Remus' bed was the only one that looked nice enough for it to be obvious that I messed it up! James' bed was so messy before the fight, my jumping on it probably made it look tidier!" Sirius chuckled at the thought and nodded in agreement.  
  
"Yeah . . . you're right. James really should make more of an effort to clean up after himself." Sirius ironically said this as he sat on his own bed that hadn't been voluntarily made since the first day of school.  
  
"Speak for yourself!" Joey teased. Sirius gripped the pillow that was still on his lap from when Joey had hit him with it, and he chucked it across the room at her.  
  
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The evening continued without any more pillow wars, and Sirius and Joey had decided to get some homework done together. They had spent the time working on their charms papers, offering information and ideas to each other when either one of them would get stuck on a certain part. Sirius was particularly good at charms, considering he was the best charms student in their class, so Joey found it rather helpful to be working with him.  
  
When they had finally finished their charms homework, they moved onto transfiguration. Though they didn't have the class at the same time together, they still took the same course, and received the same homework. They were about halfway done when Sirius tossed down his quill down on the table and heaved an annoyed sigh.  
  
"God! I refuse to do any more of this tonight! It just never seems to end! I wish there was no such thing as homework! Don't our teachers realize we have lives outside of school work?! It's ridiculous!" he ranted. Joey just smiled at the all too familiar temper tantrum. She went through them about every Thursday night when she was aching for it to finally be the weekend.  
  
"Don't worry," she soothed as she put her quill down as well. "We can quit for tonight and finish it up again another evening. And don't worry about it. Before we know it, it'll be winter break, and we'll have two weeks to do nothing but relax." Sirius nodded at her confidence and allowed himself to smile. Joey was always so much more relaxed when it came to doing school work.  
  
"Speaking of winter break, what are you planning on doing over the holidays?"  
  
"Oh . . . well, I'm probably going to visit my family at home for a few days and then we're going to the U.S. for the remainder of the vacation." Sirius smiled and nodded at her plans. He had spent lots of time over at Joey's house over multiple summers, and knew her family very well. "What'll you be doing?"  
  
Sirius gave an unconcerned shrug and glanced down at the parchment that sat before him. "Probably spend it in my room hiding from my cold- blooded parents. Not like Christmas means anything to them outside of fancy parties and more excuses to ignore me." Joey gave him an understanding rub on the shoulder. She knew how much Sirius despised his parents for how they ignored him.  
  
"Well, maybe that's a good thing, then. Would you want to spend the holiday with my family and me?" she asked as she gave him a hopeful smile. "Your parents wouldn't care, would they?"  
  
"It's not a matter if *my* parents care or not. In fact, I don't think they could care less if I suddenly dropped dead with pneumonia. The matter is, would *your* parents cared if I intruded on your family vacation?" Joey gave him a 'you have got to be kidding me' look.  
  
"Oh, pulease, Sirius. You've got to be joking!" Joey confuted haughtily. "My family thinks of you as more part of family than they think of me! Lord knows you fit in better!" Sirius gave a laugh that showed he knew she spoke the truth. "You're like the fourth son my parents never had!" she joked.  
  
Joey was born into a family with three older brothers: Josh, Brian, and Sam. Sam had just graduated from Hogwarts the year before then, so he was nineteen, while Brian was twenty-one and Josh was twenty-four. Joey was the only girl in her family besides her mother, and she was also the baby, at just seventeen years old. Since Sirius had been one of her best friends since the very first day of their very first year of Hogwarts, he too had grown up with her brothers and became like a sibling to them. Especially since Sirius was really the only one of Joey's friends who had a terrible relationship with his family, her parents had taken to seeing him as more like one of their own sons rather than just as a buddy who visited every once and a while.  
  
"Oh, alright!" he conceded, causing Joey to beam back at him. "I guess it would be a lot of fun to see your brothers again. It's been a while, hasn't it?!" Joey suddenly narrowed her eyes at Sirius when he said this.  
  
"Don't you guys *dare* pick on me again!" she snapped with a hint of amusement in her voice. "It's no fun when your three older brothers and best friend gang up on you!" Sirius just laughed and shrugged.  
  
"Well, we'll have to get a game of rugby going again, just like old times!" he planned. Joey nodded in agreement. She remembered all those late summer nights that she had spent out in some deserted muggle park playing a rough game of rugby with the four other boys and her father.  
  
As the only girl of the group, she was always placed as the 'extra player' on one of the teams. She was always considered the runt due to the fact that she was more delicate, and obviously weaker than the others. This, however, was somewhat an advantage . . . Joey could always beat the pants off any of the other boys in a sprinting contest, and due to the fact that she was much smaller and more agile then them, it was easy for her to swerve past them without being tackled. In respect to her sneak attack, often times the guys that were on her team would use a play they liked to call the 'Joey funnel,' where they would try their best to create a clear path for her to just run straight past the goal line.  
  
The game would go late into the warm summer night until it was either too dark to see even a foot in front of their faces, or they were too pooped- out to even grip the ball tight enough to run with it. Then they would stagger home, huge cheesy grins plastered across their sweaty faces, to a nice large tray of chocolate and butterscotch chip cookies that Joey's mother had baked while they were out.  
  
Those were the summers they lived for, and those memories would never fade even as they all got older.  
  
"Well, I guess I'll just owl my parents and tell them the plan. You can come to the United States with us, as well. Omigod, this is going to be so exciting! I'm going to bring you to all the muggle attractions and give you a real taste of what it's like in the non-magical world!" Joey was so excited, buy Sirius was looking rather nervous at the idea of being around so many muggles at a time.  
  
"Uhhh . . . Joey? Is that such a good idea? I mean . . . I've never really . . . been around so many . . ."  
  
"Oh, it'll be so much fun, Sirius! I'll take you in my car, and we'll go to the movies and . . ." Sirius' eyes were now wide with something that quite closely resembled panic. "What?!" she asked splenetically.  
  
He just laughed and shook his head. "You're too much!" he chuckled. "I've never been to America before, let alone around a whole bunch of . . . non-magical people . . . and now . . ." he paused for a moment as the shock began to sink in, ". . .now I'm going to be stuck in a place where they're all around me?! What if I catch some foreign disease? I'm sure muggles can't be *that* clean, can they?" Joey started laughing.  
  
"God, Sirius! Get over it! I promise you'll at least enjoy yourself at least a little bit . . ." She started laughing to herself as the next thought popped into her head, ". . . and I'm pretty sure that you aren't going to contract some deadly foreign disease . . ." Sirius started laughing too. Joey quickly grabbed a tiny slip of parchment and scribbled a note across it with her quill. She rolled it up and handed it into Flam's beak before he took off out the window and made a loop, heading downwards to the school's grounds.  
  
"Hey, where's he going with that? Shouldn't he be heading towards your parents?"  
  
"No, of course not!" Joey laughed as if the thought was ridiculous. "He's just taking it to the owlery for me." Sirius furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.  
  
"You realize you just sent an *owl* to the *owlery* to send a message for you?" Joey nodded at him.  
  
"I never send Flam to deliver messages anywhere besides the owlery, where he gets another owl to deliver the message for him."  
  
"But why would you do that?" he laughed, still with confusion clearly hinted in his voice.  
  
"Because! You realize it takes owls multiple days at a time to just deliver the message to its destination, and then it takes them another few days just to return from the trip?" Sirius nodded. "Well, How could I *possibly* live without my baby for so many days?!" Joey asked as if the idea was preposterous. Sirius just shook his head and laughed.  
  
"No wonder that bird acts so chubby and spoiled!" he laughed. "The thing never gets any proper exercise or authority!" Joey shook her head in protest.  
  
"He's one of my best friends, and has *always* been there for me. And as for the exercise thing, he . . . hunts . . . sometimes . . . when he feels like it . . ." Sirius couldn't suppress his grin, and he let out a very derisive laugh.  
  
"You really are a weirdo, sometimes, you know that?" he teased. Joey's eyes narrowed at him, but a smile played at her rosy lips.  
  
"Well, I happened to have learned it from the best," she retorted playfully as she stood up and nonchalantly sauntered over to him.  
  
"And who might have you learned it from?" he asked, trying desperately to keep his voice steady as she advanced towards him.  
  
"Oh . . . I can think of a few people . . ." she said lightly as she crawled onto his lap, causing Sirius' eyebrows to shoot up on his forehead.  
  
"Will you show me?" he practically whispered as she gave him a tiny smirk and leaned her half-parted lips in to meet his. The kiss started out slow and gentle, as if they were almost hesitant to make a move. Joey was slowly running her delicate fingers along Sirius' jaw line as she gently grazed his bottom lip with both of hers and continued to suck on it affectionately. Sirius had his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her to him, and he was delicately caressing her upper lip with the gentle tracing of his tongue.  
  
As they both played around tentatively with their tongues, they grew hungry for more emotion in the kiss. Joey found herself pressing impatiently into him, causing his back to arch against the hard-wooden chair as it dug into the middle of his spine. He let out a groan, and Joey pulled the weight off his chest, making a motion to pull out of the kiss. Sirius still had his arms around her waist, however, and didn't allow her to pull her lips away.  
  
Sensing his feelings to want to maintain the kiss, Joey gripped the front of his shirt in her fists and hauled him up with her as she stood up. He willingly allowed her to jerk him forcefully around and push him back onto his bed.  
  
They broke apart as he fell back flat onto his bed, but Sirius wasn't complaining once Joey hastily crawled on top of him and resumed the passionate kiss. She was in control now, and she ran her tongue along his bottom lip before scattering warm, amorous kisses down his jaw and neck. Sirius pulled his eyes shut tight and bit his lip as he could feel her warm breath exhale from her nose in a fervent pant, brushing along his neck, and mixing rousingly with her trail of kisses.  
  
Feeling uncomfortably vulnerable to be lying on his back with her on top of him, Sirius flipped onto his left side, causing Joey to fall over next to him on his right. He simply turned his head in the opposite direction and continued to trace his tongue along the inside of her mouth as he pulled his right leg over both of hers and positioned himself so he was on top of her, propped up with one of his arms that was rested next to her.  
  
Sirius continued to explore Joey's mouth and tickle her lips with his tongue. She let out a slight moan, and he responded by slowly lowering himself on top of her and gently pressing his hips into her. She let out a sudden whimper in protest, and his eyes flew open as he quickly pulled off of her, propping all of his weight up on his arms.  
  
"What?" he asked, the sound of pure worry streaked through his voice. Joey smiled mischievously and looked down at the waistline of his pants as she moved her hands to the same spot her gaze was focused on. Sirius' eyes were two huge black marbles as Joey's hands fingered his belt for a moment before unlatching it, stripping it from his pants, and tossing it carelessly to the floor. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and brought his body lowered onto hers. He achingly pressed his hips into hers, and she, partially muffled by his kiss, let out a faint moan in yearning.  
  
Moving her hands from around his neck, she drew them around his waist, under his thin shirt, and up his bare back. Her gentle touch along his smooth back caused so many sensory nerves to go off along his spine, which made it near impossible for him to keep from giving an impulsive shiver. Smiles crept along both of their lips as they continued to be enveloped in the deepening kiss. Before Sirius knew it, Joey had run her hands completely all the way up his back, bringing the base of his shirt with them, and pulling it up over his head. She casually discarded the shirt on the floor along with his belt and resumed teasing his tongue with her own.  
  
Getting restless with all of his weight on top of her, Joey tucked her left leg around his right one, and vehemently flipped him over, allowing him to pull her along so she was now on top, straddling his hips. She then slid herself down his body a little ways so her head was level with his firmly packed abs. Starting at the base of his breast bone, she began planting a path of slow, seductive kisses all the way up the middle of his broad chest to the base of his neck. Then she traced her tongue along the center of his throat, feeling him shudder against the sensation.  
  
Sirius was trying frantically to control his canine instincts in the situation, but Joey found herself on her back once again as he began kissing her with even more exigency than before. His hands were softly and slowly sliding up along her waist towards her ribs, and she could sense the apprehension in his touch as it drew farther up her torso. She kissed him harder as if giving him her consent to go on, and he did so willingly.  
  
Before they got any further, there was a sudden and extremely loud 'hoot' from out side the window as the beautiful brown and white speckled owl flew through the window. When Flam saw the scene that was before him, he wasted no time to rushing over and pecking Sirius relentlessly on top of the head while in mid-flight.  
  
He pulled off of Joey quickly enough before the next blow of pecks met with his head, and he ducked irritably as the bird swooped again.  
  
"Couldn't *possibly* live without your baby, eh?" he asked jeeringly. Joey gave him a playful poke in the ribs and laughed. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Sirius and Joey exchanged looks.  
  
"Probably for the better, then, that Flam came in when he did? Impeccable timing, I'd say!" she laughed, swatting Sirius playfully on the bum as he got up to open the door. In walked James Potter, carrying his book bag and most of his clothes in his arms, and wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. He glanced around the room when he entered it and noticed the scattered papers, the messed up beds (well, Remus' for that matter), and, of course, Sirius' belt and shirt lying abandoned on the floor.  
  
His eyes eventually wandered over to Sirius, who was now standing before him, hair a complete mess, and pants sitting loosely on his hips. James just shook his head and smiled as his gaze finally made its way over to Joey who was still lying back on Sirius' bed, shirt half-ridden up on her torso. He quirked an eyebrow at her, and she glanced down sheepishly before yanking her shirt down to her waistline so quickly, she was lucky she didn't tear it.  
  
Stifling a laugh, James strolled over to his bed, threw his clothes in his trunk, and dropped his book bag down on the floor. He casually went about his business getting ready for bed, as Joey took the hint and began gathering her things together. It took her a matter of minutes before she had all of her papers packed up in her book bag, and Flam on her shoulder as she headed out. Before leaving, she planted a long, soft kiss on Sirius' lips, and then sauntered out the door.  
  
Sirius' expression was still dreamy as he pushed the door shut with a click. A few moments later, James wandered out of the bathroom, holding a toothbrush in his mouth and having toothpaste dribbling carelessly down his chin. Sirius glared at his friend as the smile broadened on James' face. James pulled the toothbrush out of his mouth.  
  
"Sorry, mate . . . Lily wanted to get some rest this evening. I had to go *somewhere*, and excuse me if my dorm was the first thing that came to my mind!" Daggers were still being shot at him through the penetrating stare. "Alright, alright . . . I guess I should have stayed down in the common room." He gave a long pause before a smile started creeping up his face at what he said next. "And I *did* give you a few hours . . . I'd expected you would've been a little farther along. . ." James' smile was now stretched full across from ear to ear. ". . . but all you managed was to slide her shirt up, like, what, an inch or two?"  
  
Sirius grabbed a pillow off the nearest bed and chucked it full force at James' head. James, of course, dodged the pillow expertly, and strolled right back into the bathroom, still chuckling to himself. Sirius then wandered over to his bed and collapsed on it, dreamily staring up at the curtains that created the canopy above his four-poster. Well aware of the fact that Joey's irresistibly sweet scent was still attached to himself, he breathed in deeply at the heavenly aroma.  
  
He wasn't bothering to suppress the ridiculously broad grin that well complimented his adorable features. And that smile would refuse to leave him for the rest of the night.  
  
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*Giggles* I love Sirius so much! LOL! And I just had to add James' little sense of humor at the end, there! Hehehe! Too funny! I thought I would try to capture the true sense of humor of the typical male . . . w/e! hahaha! Hope you guys liked this chapter! I would reread it again to fix any errors, but it's already 1:30 and I promised my mum I'd go to bed two hours ago . . . oh, well! Good night, all! Well, actually, for a lot of you in Europe, it's probably late morning write now . . . but who cares?! Hehehe! Please write me a nice long review! I won't be able to update for awhile, and I'd be sooo special for you ppl to tell me what you're thinking! Thanks! Much luv! = ]  
  
p.s. I'll say hi to Pluto for you all! (He's my favorite Disney character . . . hehehe! He's so cute! How can you possibly resist his scrawny little legs, big nose, and enormous smile?!) 


	23. Seeing way too much

Mercury15: Hey! Thanks for being so patient and sending me a review despite the problems the site was throwing at you! You're an awesome reviewer for sending me feedback and telling me what you're thinking while you're reading this stuff! Thanx so much!  
  
Lj: *giggles* You're too sweet! And, yes, of course I will continue! I'm too addicted to writing this story to NOT continue! Hehehehe! Thanks for the support!  
  
J-chan8: Thanks a bundle for the compliment! I hope you continue to enjoy reading my chapters!  
  
Panny Savage: Hey! It's so good to hear from you again! I'm glad you've taken back up to reading and reviewing my story! Thanx much for your continuing support!  
  
Blonded: Omigod! I'm sooo sorry you came to that observation. I meant in NO way to have this seem like blonds are bitches or ANYTHING like that! My reasons for making Catrina blond were simply to offer a contrast to Joey being brunette and Lily being a red-head. Made more sense to have her be an opposite! If I had her be a brunette just like Joey, then she'd be too similar to my main character and I'd have difficulties trying to create a *unique* mental picture of her for my readers. It's a similar concept with people even like Laura. I made her a dirty-blond because a) it matches Remus, and b) it is a unique color to any of the other girls in the story so far. Does that make sense? I truly hope so, because I don't want to insult ANY of my readers. Much luv!  
  
Sakura: *giggles* Chapter 22 wasn't *that* bad! LOL! This fic. *is* PG- 13, and I didn't really think I even came close to going any higher than the rating! Hehehehe! But I do know how over-protective some parents are, so I'll just simply give you a pat on the back and say: "Yes; you are lucky as hell!" LOL! Thanks for reading and reviewing my story, and I sincerely hope that you'll find the time to continue to grace me with your wonderful words of encouragement! *grin*  
  
Emmah-Leah: Hehehehe! Yes, yes . . . spanking James would be a very interesting concept to get over! *giggles uncontrollably* Your review was sooo nice! Omigod! I was like totally inspired! Hehehehe! You're an awesome chica, and I totally hope that you continue w/ your wonderful stories as well! Much luv!  
  
Siriuslvr: That's totally funny that you live right near Disneyland! Hehehehe! To think that I could have been right around you . . . LOL. So do you see the fireworks *every* night when they go off in the park? That'd be hella cool and, yet, hella annoying at the same time! *giggles* Anywayz, thanks so much for your review! Totally made me believe that you guys are actually feeling what I'm trying to make realistic through my writing! Thanks a bundle! Hope you continue to read and review my work!  
  
Dana Whelks: Hahahahaha! Alright! Enough with the pounding! Here it is! *wink* LOL! Hope you like this one too! Thanx so much for the feed back! I'm glad to get some reviewers who aren't completely partial to the OC thing, but then tell me I'm giving a pretty good effort of pulling it off! Makes me feel really appreciated! *grin*  
  
Greenfairie: Yeah! Go Pluto! Hehehehe! I got this adorable little stuffed animal of him . . . *giggles* Omigod, it's just too cut for words! He's sitting right here on my desk with me and is staring up at me while I type this. Hehehehe! *reviewers start cracking up as author begins to make little cooing noises at the stuffed creature* Right! So Remus WILL be coming up! I promise! But I don't think I'll be able to show their whole ordeal in detention . . . my story's been kind of 'third person limited,' meaning I don't stretch far away from Joey even though the story isn't her POV, so it'd be kinda random for me to suddenly focus in on *just* Remus all of the sudden. Hope you understand. But NO WORRIES . . . your time WILL come! Mark my words! BWAHAHAHAHA! You're just gonna hafta trust me first . . . there's gonna kinda be something happening before that, so just take it easy and try not to send me any flames or something. *nervous laughter* It WILL be okay! THanx again for all your support! Hope you'll continue to read and review!  
  
Jenstarz: Well I'm glad somebody appreciated the fact that I gave some info on Joey's background . . . because it's CERTAINLY going to come up again. I'll tell you that much! (*coughwinterbreakcough*) *grin* Thanks soo much for all the feedback! I really feel like you were covering a lot of the main points in the chapter when you were telling me what you thought. Hehehehe! And the snaps for a great chapter thing . . . OMIGOD! . . . had me in pieces! LOL!  
  
Kiwi: Hahahaha! Your lovely rendition of your Iowa trip had me cracking up. "nothing but corn and bugs" LOL! And I'm totally glad you like the mush in that last chapter! I totally know how you feel about needing a guy like Sirius! Hehehehe! Too bad I don't have enough time for a boyfriend . . . I'd totally go Sirius-guy hunting. *author starts cracking up* But, hey . . . hope you like this next chapter! And yes, dogs are the best! *grin*  
  
Fantasy4: Glad you enjoyed it so far! And I hope you take pleasure in reading what I have for the future as well! *grin* Please continue to read and review! I appreciate your contributions! *grin*  
  
KATE: *phew* That was a lot of reviews you sent me . . . and a lot of judgment as well. I respect your opinions, but I have to say that I was a bit surprised when some of them simply left me hanging: "um . . . enough with the carrying already. It's sweet, but . . . yah." (ch. 6) I am not quite sure what you were implying with some of your . . . "comments," but I will try to take it as a compliment that you took the time to continue to voice your opinions on so many of my chapters. You certainly did have a lot of problems with certain *details* of my story, and I am sorry that you feel that way. I only find it unfavorable that you did not take the time to sign in . . . seems you must have found it uncomfortable to criticize me and receive any response in return. If that is the case, that is quite unfortunate . . . but I will continue to hope that you will take the time to *constructively* criticize my work . . . not *just* send complaints. Thank you.  
  
Casco/Sneaky Girl who snuck onto my account: You are such a little cat turd! LOL! I can't believe you did that! Hahahaha! What will my reviewers think when they see that "I" wrote myself a review, you big bobo! (As for anyone who is confused by reading this, I DID NOT write that one review that says was posted by "Sportzjunkie" That happens to have been my sneaky, older (yet quite less mature) sister who thought it'd be comical to do that!) Needless to say I was surprised as hell, but then found it rather funny in the long run. Please stick to your OWN account, Cassie! After all, I DO KNOW WHERE YOU SLEEP!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!  
  
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And to everybody:  
  
Hello, hello!!! Feels soo good to be back and writing to ya'll again!!! Missed you guys sooo much, and I can't even tell you HOW NICE it was to return home to all of your very nice and very loonnngg reviews! I love long reviews! *grin* So anywayz . . . Hope this chapter is up to standards! And I'm sooo sorry for the wait! I'll have to hurry my butt up and do a lot of writing before school starts again . . . then I'll have, like, NO time to write! *shivers* My teachers show no mercy when it comes to homework. What can I say? School starts Sept. 3 and volleyball takes over as well! I'll get cracking on the writing though . . . make up for it ahead of time. Hope you guys continue to R & R. Much luv from your one and only Sportzjunkie!!!  
  
-Sara  
  
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Joey was walking down the stone steps of the boys' dormitories with a smile that evening. When she entered the warm atmosphere of the empty Gryffindor common room, she let out an exhausted sigh and made her way across the room to the girls' dormitory stairs. Before she reached the stairs, however, the brilliant heat that was radiating from the fireplace caused her to give a once-over towards the blaze, curious as to why it would burn so bright for an empty room.  
  
To her surprise, the common room wasn't completely empty, as she had originally suspected it was. Sitting on the red Gryffindor couch, oblivious to anything or anyone who happened to be in the room, was no other than Remus Lupin. He was staring, clearly lost in thought, at the intense flames in front of him. Joey found it odd for her werewolf friend to be sitting all alone like he was on a Monday night, doing absolutely nothing but brooding over something that was clearly bothering him. She felt such a sudden urge to comfort her good buddy that her feet were carrying her over to the couch to join him before she was even aware of it.  
  
"Remus?" Joey spoke out hesitantly. Remus' eyes abruptly snapped away from the inferno, and his head cleared out of his trance-like state.  
  
"Joey!" he voiced aloud without really knowing why; he didn't really know what else to say. He looked back at the fire and continued to be devoured in contemplation. Joey hesitated for a moment before sliding down onto the couch cushion next to her blue-eyed friend.  
  
"Something bothering you?" she asked feeling a little ridiculous for being so blunt. He slowly pulled his eyes away from the blaze and allowed his gaze to meet Joey's. She couldn't sense anything about his feelings from looking into his eyes, and this was a bad sign. It made her feel a little edgy. She was *always* able to read what Remus was feeling through his eyes . . . but now . . . those big sapphire orbs, once so bursting of emotion and disposition, told her nothing. Something was REALLY bothering him, but he didn't seem to want her to know. What could he have been hiding?  
  
"Do you want to talk about it?" She found this question much more to her own liking . . . it wasn't so blunt, yet it still allowed for the ball to land in his court. Now it was his decision if the rally should continue. The sandy-blond boy in front of her now opened his mouth to speak, but then quickly shut it again. He gave her a pained look and shut shook his head sadly. Joey made her way to say something, but was surprised when Remus cut her off.  
  
"She knows . . ." was all he managed to croak out. Joey thought it wise for her to try and analyze the statement before showering him with a whole bunch of 'who/what/when/where' questions, which could cause him to back up into reserve again.  
  
"She knows." She simply repeated his words in hopes that he would understand how vague that declaration really was. Remus nodded sadly. Joey hadn't seen the poor blue eyes look that sad in a *very* long time. But at any rate, she now felt comforted by the fact that she was getting through to him . . . at least now he wouldn't have to suffer through these pains alone.  
  
" . . . my secret," he whispered hoarsely so it was barely audible to even Joey, who was right next to him. Though she knew what 'secret' he was talking about within the split second that he voiced the words, she waited a few moments before pushing for more info.  
  
"She knows your secret . . ." Joey winced at the sound of her quaking voice. But she only managed to get out one more word before Remus cut her off again. "Laura-?"  
  
"-Catrina!" he spout out, angrily. Joey was silent for a long time after this. So many things were running through her mind at that moment that she thought she might have passed out, had she not been sitting down. This was BAD!!! It was bad enough that someone could have possibly found out about Remus' secret . . . but the fact that it was *Catrina,* of all bloody people to find out . . . Joey just couldn't even get herself to think of the terrible things that could arise from this.  
  
Without realizing it, Joey had slipped off into a whirl of thoughts while allowing her eyes to be absorbed into the alluring beauty of the fiery inferno in front of her. As her mind began to return back to reality however, she became very aware of the fact that Remus was looking straight at her with a look that said he was trying to figure out what she was thinking. "Say something," he pleaded under his breath, just loud enough to be heard over the crackling flames.  
  
"Catrina knows about . . . about-?" she couldn't bring herself to finish. Perhaps she had misinterpreted his statement earlier, and the secret he was talking about had nothing to do with his secret lycanthropy issues.  
  
"-about Moony? Yes," he said, finishing her question and then confirming it with the painful reality.  
  
"But how-"  
  
"She saw me last month . . ." he groaned, sounding completely exhausted by the whole ordeal. "You know she transferred here about one week before the ball?"  
  
"Yeah . . . Lily told me. But you didn't transform until-"  
  
"-that Tuesday before the ball . . ." he trailed off miserably. "*Apparently,* Catrina had seen us four boys leaving the castle that evening, and she just so happened to be curious as to what we were doing . . . so she followed us."  
  
"But did you know at the time?"  
  
"No!!! We had no idea that anyone had seen us! And we had been so careful too . . ." Remus shook his head slowly. "There were no people around who could have seen us . . ."  
  
Joey held his gaze for a moment as she pondered thoughtfully and sympathetically at what he was saying. But then it hit her like a ton of bricks. Her eyes got wide, and even Remus could tell she had figured something out.  
  
"Remus . . . did you see any animals around you while you were on your way out? Like . . . a cat, perhaps?!"  
  
"Uhhh . . . well, I dunno. I guess there could have been one . . . like Mrs. Norris or whatever . . . but I doubt that she would-" He was cut off:  
  
"Any *Siamese* cats, perhaps?!!"  
  
"Well . . . no I don't think . . . but then . . ." suddenly Remus stopped talking and his eyes got *really* large. "OH MY GOD, JOEY! There WAS that one cat that Sirius said was looking at him funny . . . and I'm pretty sure it was a Siamese one, too!!!" He looked down at his lap as his mind tried to remember better. "How could I have forgotten that?! . . . Granted, I *was* about to turn into a blood thirsting, ravenous werewolf at the time. . . so I wasn't exactly in the mood to stop and smell the roses . . . but, STILL!!!" His eyes caught hold of Joey's knowing gaze. "Joey, what does this mean?"  
  
"It means that Catrina is, in fact, an animagus," Joey said. "But that doesn't get down to the root of your problem . . . Remus, did she threaten you in any way?"  
  
"Not specifically . . . but she did say that I should be careful or else who knew where my 'juicy little secret' could get slipped to . . ."  
  
"Uhhh . . . that sounds like blackmail to me!" Joey retorted angrily. "That good for nothing little-"  
  
"Joey! I couldn't care less if half the school knew . . . just as long as a *certain* person didn't find out . . ."  
  
"You mean Laura?" Joey whispered so it was barely even audible to Remus over the popping of the fire. Remus nodded urgently.  
  
"Joey . . . if she finds out . . . oh, God . . . she'd never even look at me again, let alone give me a chance to get to know her better. . ." he trailed off with a depressing groan. "Why me?" he moaned under his breath. Joey leaned in and rubbed the side of his arm.  
  
"It's okay, Remus," Joey comforted. "We just can't let Catrina find out about Laura. Just act like Catrina doesn't have anything against you, and I'm sure eventually she'll get bored with the fact that she isn't getting under your skin."  
  
"But what if she *does* find out about Laura and how I'd just die is she found out?! Then I'll have no choice but to become . . . her man slave! Oh, God, Joey . . . what would I do?" Joey was surprised at the amount of fear she could see shining through her friend's eyes. He must have really liked this girl to be in such a spasm over this situation.  
  
"Don't worry, Remus," Joey cooed. "I'll keep an eye on her, and you keep an eye on Laura. If you see Catrina talking to Laura- or anyone else for that matter- don't hesitate to say that one little word . . ." Remus gave her a confused look.  
  
"Stop?" he suggested.  
  
"I was thinking more along the lines of 'obliviate' . . . but we don't want to be too hasty unless your cover is really at jeopardy. Lord knows if that spell backfires . . . it's a difficult repair job at Saint Mungo's for the recipient. . ." Remus managed to crack a smile at this.  
  
"So do you think I'll still be able to ask her out tomorrow at detention?" he asked hopefully.  
  
"Hey," Joey laughed, "if you can manage to ask her out in the middle of detention with out McShailty stopping you . . . than I highly doubt that some hooch is going to get in your way!" Remus nodded appreciatively.  
  
"Yeah . . . you're right. Thanks, Joey." Joey smiled and leaned in to hug him.  
  
"Hey . . . Don't mention it! Any job where the chance may arise to do some kind of hex on Catrina is totally my thing!" She gave him a friendly pat on the back as she stood up. "Now I'm going to bed . . . I have a long day of school tomorrow, and then I have to go tutor some potion-ly challenged Gryffindor."  
  
"Do you know who you've got, yet?" Joey shook her head.  
  
"And I won't lie to you . . . knowing *my* luck when it comes to people . . . I'm as scared as hell about who it's going to be!" Remus gave her an understanding shrug along with a laugh, as he stood up and walked over towards the boy's dormitory stairs.  
  
"Goodnight, Joey."  
  
"G'nite, Moony."  
  
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The next day's classes seemed to crawl by for Joey. It felt like she was in a never ending haze of boredom until lunch finally rolled around. She was happy to finally get to spend some time with her friends, but was a little annoyed when Remus reminded her that she had to make a trip over to McShailty's classroom to pick up that day's lesson plan. Professor McShailty decided to provide Joey and Remus each day with the lesson plan he had taught to that day's remedial potions class. It would come in handy during their evening tutoring sessions, so they could know what the students were learning ahead of time.  
  
So she left the great hall a little early before lunch was over, and started heading over towards the dungeons. Just as she neared the corner that would turn onto the corridor that would lead her to the potions classroom, Joey could hears some muffled slobbering and moaning noises coming from around the turn. Her face scrunched up into what looked to be a vomit-induced expression and proceeded cautiously down the rest of the way towards the bend.  
  
As she turned the corner, she suddenly did feel a sudden urge to loose the lovely lunch she had just consumed minutes before. The sight down the corridor in front of her made her want to cover her eyes and run for shelter. The source of the noise was exactly what she had dreaded, and the two guilty parties were still at the sickening snog session even with Joey present in the same hallway. Not only were the offenders so bold as to mack on each other so close to McShailty's company, but they were accomplishing it up against his classroom door, no less!  
  
"Great!" Joey mumbled under her breath. As she hesitantly made her way over to the blocked door. At first, Joey was trying to keep her gaze on the floor, making a great effort to not recognize either one of the snoggers. But as she got close enough to try and perhaps sneak around them into the classroom, it was impossible to not realize who they were. She didn't suppress the gasp when she recognized the familiar Barbie-wannabe and the freakishly muscular man-whore attached to its face.  
  
But before Joey had much time to try and restrain the urge to thrust her boot up Weald's ass just to get him out of the door way she needed to pass through, the very same door suddenly flung open from the inside. Professor McShailty seemed to wrench that door open with all of the strength possessed in his cantankerous, old self.  
  
"WHAT is going on out here?!" he bellowed, eyes staring pointedly at the two students who had landed on the floor after the support of the door had been yanked from behind them. Joey found herself thinking she'd never been so glad in her life to see the crotchety old man. "Mr. Weald and Miss Strumpet!!! Get off the floor at once and do me a *grand* favor by staying the hell away from my classroom when on any of your other little hormone frenzies!!!"  
  
The two students hopped off the floor and hurried down the corridor . . . both stopping just long enough to shoot Joey a scornful glance of loathing. She simply glared back and rolled her eyes once the two were out of sight.  
  
"Atramentous . . . in!" he commanded as he pointed into his classroom. She shot him a look of defiance, causing him to annoyingly drawl out the word, "*Please* . . ."  
  
As her glare softened into simply a distasteful scowl, she walked into the classroom and stopped before the teacher's desk. McShailty slithered his way over to his desk and hunched over it, picking up a small folder filled will a few sheets of parchment. He picked up the folder and handed it over to Joey.  
  
"I've spoken with Madam Pince and she has agreed to reserve a small booth in the library so you and Remus will be able to do your tutoring in there. I assume you'll find it much quieter than your common room, and I think it will be much more of a suitable environment for trying to drill information into such unintelligent people." Joey couldn't help but give him a shocked look. She couldn't believe that her potions Professor would have gone to the trouble of making sure she was in a comfortable learning environment to teach!  
  
Noticing the uncomfortably appreciative expression coming across Joey's face, the Professor continued on before he might actually have to suffer through 'thank you.' "Your tutoring session will start at seven o'clock this evening and go on for as long as you think need be. Although, with Mr. Weald . . . I'm sure it could go on all night knowing what a stupid idiot he is."  
  
Joey choked on her own spit. "What?!" she barked. "Please don't tell me you just said Mr. Weald?! You've got to be kidding me! There's NO WAY I'm going to be tutoring . . ." she trailed off as she noticed the positively sinister smile climbing up the Professors face. It was useless. 'Son of a Bitch!' she thought angrily to herself. 'That stupid son of a bitch!' He knew that she had a problem with Weald! She didn't know HOW he knew, but judging by the creepy-ass smirk crawling up his face, the punk had to have known something. There was just NO BLOODY WAY that she could be able to handle tutoring Weald for hours at a time . . . not to mention ALONE!!! 'Oh, God!' her head screamed as she suddenly realized what was *really* going on. McShailty had given her the ultimate punishment. No wonder he had arranged for them to have a *private* tutoring booth! He was totally looking to torture her by shoving her into a booth with a loathed enemy! Joey didn't know what else to do besides glare at the cruel professor.  
  
"Oh, yes you will be tutoring him, Miss Atramentous. You are one of my best students aside from Mr. Lupin, and Mr. Weald is one of my worst students aside from Miss Strumpet. Therefore I see no better pair for the job." He paused for moment as Joey continued to glare. It was just too much for him to try and contain a bout of evil laughter. "You may leave now," was all he said. But as Joey turned around, she could see him smirk deviously . . . she hated that man more than anything at that moment.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Now that Joey suddenly found herself dreading the evening to come, the rest of the day seemed to go by so much quicker. In fact, it seemed only minutes later that she found herself sitting in the Gryffindor common room, waiting for Remus so she could talk to him before he left for his detention.  
  
She didn't think it wise to inform Sirius of who her new "study- buddy" was, so when he asked her where she was going, she simply reminded him of McShailty's punishment and told him she'd be back before ten. But that was at dinner that she had spoken to him, and now she was feeling rather bored at the fact that she now had no one to talk to. Where was Remus?!  
  
Flam was on her shoulder chattering noisily to himself, and Joey felt a much more comfortable with the fact that she was taking the bird with her to the tutoring session. At least she could be reassured that if Weald did try anything . . . *cough, cough* . . . he' definitely be wearing an eye patch for a while.  
  
Joey was jerked from her reverie as she heard footsteps coming down the boys' dormitory steps. She rolled her eyes and jumped off the couch without even seeing who the footsteps belonged to, knowing all to well who it was, taking their sweet-ass time sauntering down the steps.  
  
"God, Remus! Took you long enough! I thought you had-" she stopped mid sentence as her eyes fell on the dirty-blond, blue-eyed boy as he came trotting down the last few steps into the common room. Her lips parted slightly and her mouth suddenly went dry as her jaw dropped noticeably downward. His eyes didn't meet her right away, as they scanned around the common room, taking in the surroundings.  
  
"Sorry, Joey. I was just trying to- What's wrong?!" he asked abruptly when his eyes finally met hers. He thought she looked like she was disgusted with how he looked.  
  
"Remus . . . you look-" she couldn't even finish her sentence. Granted, she wasn't attracted to the guy like that, but even she couldn't refuse to accept the fact that he looked . . . if nothing else . . . extremely *HOT.*  
  
His hair didn't seem as 'tame' as it usually did. In fact, it looked like someone had found a way to liquefy and bottle-up silk just to rub it wildly through his hair . . . giving it a really sexy, unkempt look. While the front of his hair was shorter than the back, it was parted down the middle, allowing a few strands hang free to frame his temple. At the back, it cuffed away from his ears and curled adorably at the nape of his neck. He was wearing a navy blue, collared shirt, with loosely fitting khaki pants.  
  
"Sirius did it," he stated matter-of-factly. Joey had to choke back a laugh. The poor guy was self-conscious about it! "I told him the hair was too much! God . . . I knew I shouldn't have trusted him. And then when he refused to give me my hair brush . . ." He would have continued on if Joey hadn't suddenly come to her senses and told him what she really thought of his new look.  
  
"HOT!!! Remus! You look really . . . REALLY good . . . believe me!" she said sounding exasperated. Both of Remus' eyebrows shot up on his head, and a smiled started playing across his smooth lips.  
  
"really . . . you think so?" he asked sounding quite surprised.  
  
"To the point where Laura won't be able to take her eyes off you . . . yes!" she laughed. Remus shrugged and didn't bother to suppress a grin as the two continued out of the common room together. They continued in the general direction away from the Gryffindor tower as Joey quizzed him on what he was planning on saying and how he was going to ask her out.  
  
"And above all," she concluded as they reached the corridor junction where they would have to split up; him heading towards the dungeon, she towards the library, "just be yourself and smile a lot."  
  
"Well, that's kind of hard considering I don't *feel* like myself," he said quietly as he ran a hand through his silky locks. Joey bit her bottom lip and grinned.  
  
"And make sure you do that!" she laughed.  
  
"Do what?" he asked confusedly.  
  
"Run a hand through your hair!" she laughed. "If you do that every time you get stuck in a conversation, she'll be asking you out by the end of the night!" Remus chuckled in amusement.  
  
"Like this?" he said almost mockingly as he over-exaggeratedly ran his hand through his hair again. Joey started laughing too.  
  
"Yeah . . . something like that!" she giggled. "And good luck!" she called over her shoulder as she continued down the corridor to the library.  
  
"You too!" he called back, on his way towards the dungeons.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Joey tiptoed quietly into the library. She always did her best not to make a sound every time she was in there . . . she knew it was a bad idea to get on the wrong side of Madam Pince. Joey eyes soon locked onto the old woman as she was leaning back in her chair, nose buried deep in Witch Weekly's magazine. As Joey crept over towards the desk, she woman's eyes snapped away from the reading material and now focused on the young woman in front of her.  
  
"Ummm . . . I'm Professor McShailty's student-tutor," she said quietly, yet clearly. Madam Pince cocked an eyebrow at Joey, and Joey couldn't help notice how much the woman reminded her of a vulture. Without saying a word, the bird-like hag pointed a long, wrinkly finger in the direction towards the back of the library. Joey nodded in understanding, hiked her book bag up farther on her shoulder, and made her way to the back of the library.  
  
Noticing how completely empty the library seemed, Joey found herself trying to think of a time she had ever seen it crowded in there. And, if she knew her quidditch captain well enough, he probably had never even been in the library before. Just her luck, and Weald probably wouldn't even show up, claiming he couldn't find the library or something. She almost caught herself laughing when she turned the very last corner of book shelves and stopped in her tracks at the sll too familiar sight in front of her.  
  
"God! What is this?! Make out in front of Joey day or something?!" she spat out at the two guilty people in front of her. Needless to say, they didn't bother to turn around, but instead just kept on going about their business.  
  
She would have left them alone, except for the fact that the give- away blond hair in front of her told her that one of these people was definitely Catrina, and the other one, who she couldn't quite see, had to have been the boy she was supposedly going to be tutoring that evening.  
  
"I swear, Weald," she began again in a very menacing tone, "if you don't get your face off that Barbie and shove it in a book in two seconds, I'm just going to have to go to Professor McShailty and tell him that-"  
  
"Joey?" came a voice from behind her. She spun around on her heels at the freakishly familiar voice. "What are you doing over her-"  
  
Joey's mouth dropped open at the sight of the guy behind her. "Weald? But I thought you were. . . then who is-" she whipped back around as Weald began to stare around her at the couple, too. The pair was now giving their lips a break as they confusedly looked over at the babbling spectators in front of them. "Omigod . . ." was all Joey voiced as she turned around and shoved past a shocked Weald and headed into a different, but still just as out-of-sight library booth.  
  
Weald just stood there staring at the duo in front of him, eyes wide in shock and jaw hitting the floor. "Catrina?! But I thought we were . . ." For once in his life, Weald looked hurt. He had never been cheated on by a girl before . . . surely *he* had cheated on numerous, but he had never been with a girl who had the nerve to cheat on *him.*  
  
But suddenly his eyes narrowed, and all form of anguish left his face as he focused on the guys she had cheated on him with. "Amos?" he growled out the other boy's name forebodingly enough to sound like he was ready to attack. But then he just righted himself, huffed loudly, spun around, and headed after Joey towards the library booth without looking back.  
  
ARGGG!!! All will be explained next chapter!!! I want to keep going . . . but I have conditioning tomorrow for volleyball and I have to get up at six in the morning! *growl* Please forgive me! I don't even have time to proof-read my work, so please allow all serious typos to go unnoticed. *wink*  
  
This wasn't nearly as good as I wanted it to be considering I made you guys wait so long, but the next one will come out in a few days . . . REALLY!!! As long as I get some reviews and know you guys are still with me and reading what I'm writing, I'll pump out the next chapter *really* soon and have it updated by the middle of this week! Thanks so much!  
  
And I sincerely hope that you Remus lovers (*coughGreenfairieCough* like how I'm bringing him into the story a bit . . . *purrr* I found this REALLY hot picture of Remus on Google that somebody drew! It looks sooo realistic. (it's not anime) Omigod! Really you guys . . . some people are such good artists, and they make it so much easier for the rest of us to really visualize the marauders! *giggles*  
  
Right! So I hope you guys somewhat enjoyed this chapter, and the next one should be better . . . and will come out sooner!  
  
-Sara (a.k.a Sportzjunkie) 


	24. Making a Truce

Emmah-leah: OMIGOD! I can't believe someone would delete your stories! That's so freakin' wrong! *shakes head sadly* But I can't wait to read your next chappie in Fireblown! *grin* K! thanx for the review! Much luv!!!  
  
Jenstarz: Hey hey!!! Glad you liked the chapter! And, yes, I couldn't resist bringing Remus more into the story for long . . . his character is just too lovable! Anywho, I hope you like this next one as well! Thanx for the support!!!  
  
Dana Whelks: Scarlet woman!!! LOL! That's pretty good! Thank you so much for your reviews and tons of support! Yes, yes . . . more Sirius/ Joey! I've heard the plea from enough people . . . and YES, I will heed to all your requests . . . eventually!  
  
Taraancaiel: Thank you so, so much! And I hope this update has arrived soon enough for you! *grin*  
  
Annoriel: Hehehehe! Hope you enjoyed yourself! And you don't have to apologize for not reviewing right away!!! LOL! I'm just psyched that you actually take the time to review my fic!!! Thanx so much!  
  
Matthea: Thanx so much! Hope you like this next one!  
  
Sakura: Hey!!! Yup yup . . . High school is pretty tiring, but I found my freshman year to be a lot of fun as well as exhausting!!! It's Junior year that I hear is supposed to be the real bitch . . . hmmm . . . can't wait! LOL! Thanx so much for the review! I'm honored you'd take the time out of your busy schedule for some reading/reviewing time w/ my fic!!! Thanx so much!  
  
Kiwi: *grin* It was so much fun talking and exchanging pictures w/ you!!! Hehehe! Guess it was a blessing in disguise that you didn't understand that one piece in my last chapter . . . it was hella cool getting to learn more about one of my most loyal reviewers [and you aren't boring! lol]!!! *wink* Glad you've been so sweet to continue to review so many of my new updates! It means so much!  
  
Casco: Hey Suga! Calm down! Just breathe! LOL! Goodness . . . take a chill pill, babe!!! *grin* I don't exactly want to cause anyone to go into cardiac arrest because my story freaked them out . . . but perhaps it's a good thing that you found an element of surprise in my story!!! *wink* But really . . . I'd have to say that you are on to me to some degree . . . but I won't go there and give anything away!!! [at least not yet . . . ] You'll just have to keep reading, I guess!!!  
  
Mercury15: Hahahaha! Well . . . I'll have to consider the Slytherin thing . . . maybe in a chapter later from now, we'll just have to see. *grin* Anywayz, yes . . . the last chapter was a bit of an explaining chapter . . . and I wanted to keep going because I felt like I stopped mid-thought at the end of it. You know how that is?! LOL! Anywayz, just wanted to thank you so much for your continuing support on this story. It means so very much to me! p.s. You are SUCH an awesome chica for sending those other pics to me! Omigod! LOL! thanx a bundle!!! *wink*  
  
Sugarcoatedcandy: *blush* Thanx so much!!! Gosh . . .LOL! I can barely handle compliments like that . . . I turn red just reading it! Hehehe! It totally inspires me and thank you SO MUCH for the support!!! Ahhh! Your words are too nice! Much luv!!!  
  
Kate: I had that very issue in mind the moment I decided to create Catrina's character . . . You need to realize that even people who just seem like one thing on the outside, still do have specific strengths in certain areas. I am a *firm* believer that everyone in this world is good at something (example: Neville w/ herbology), and you have yet to find out what the exact something is with Catrina. But I'm certainly glad you brought it up! You've just prompted me to bring that into this very chapter! And I'm pretty sure that by this update, many of the blurry things will soon start to clear themselves up and start making much more sense.  
  
Sweet intentionz: *grin* So happy you like that I'm bringing more Remus into the story! I was aching for more of him too! He'll show up again soon, if not in this chapter (I promise)!!! LOL! And hold your horses! I know a lot of you guys are just itching for Hogwarts winter break because it is just around the corner . . . but I'm not ready for it to be here yet, so I'd estimate at least one more chapter after this one before it really is here. K! Thanx so much for the review! I love the inspiring words!  
  
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And to everyone:  
  
Hello, all!!! I certainly hope this chapter is up to standards! *grin* I kind of hurried through it so I could get it out by today . . . but mind you . . . there was *still* a lot of time and love that went into this little piece of update thingie, and I hope you appreciate it! *wink* And if you are reading this, and have never written me a review before . . . I encourage you to! I'll welcome your opinions, but I just hope that you bring into consideration how it may come off when I read them. [In other words, try not to just bash the little petty details . . . instead express your opinions on the main chunks. Make sense?] Much luv to all who review!!!  
  
-sportzjunkie  
  
Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.  
-Robert A. Heinlein  
  
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Joey quickly stormed over towards an unoccupied library booth that was completely out of view of the snogging couple . . . *and* of Madam Pince. The last thing she needed right now was to be carefully surveyed by the creepy old vulture.  
  
All Joey could concentrate on was the anger that was running through her blood stream at this moment. And the only reason why her anger kept building up, was the fact that she was so affected emotionally by the sight she had just witnessed. She wasn't so emotionally affected earlier when she had seen Catrina making out with Weald . . . so why was she so upset now, when she had just observed the same tramp making out with Amos?  
  
Joey knew why. And she also knew that it had absolutely NOTHING to do with the fact that Amos used to be her boyfriend . . . *or* with the fact that the sight she just saw was a perfect reminder of the night Amos had cheated on her. Nope. The *real* reason that she was so bothered by the spectacle, was because there was ABSOLUTELY no explanation for the fact that Catrina *just so happened* to keep showing up with a make-out partner RIGHT in front of Joey. This was already the second time in a single day, and both times Joey had witnessed it, Catrina and her 'partner' were *always* in a place that was completely, uncoincidentally at a location that Joey was scheduled to be at. Not to mention the fact that the places where she ran into the tramp's 'sessions' were obviously not the *registered* make-out areas of the school. ( Pretty much *all* of students at Hogwarts knew that the 'acknowledged' snog-section of the library was located in the SOUTH side of the library near the "History of Muggle and Wizard interactions" section . . . *not* the NORTH side of the library where Joey had caught Catrina with Amos. And it was also well known that *every* student at Hogwarts is aware that you are NOT supposed to make-out within even three hallways from McShailty's classroom . . . and Joey had caught Catrina at it with Weald right UP AGAINST THE DOOR!!! )  
  
In Joey's mind, this could only mean one thing. Catrina was trying desperately to get under her skin . . . but Joey just couldn't quite figure out why. I mean, *sure* the girls didn't exactly like each other . . . but Joey just couldn't put her finger on the reason why Catrina would go to such trouble to make her jealous! Shouldn't it have been Joey who would have harbored the bad feelings for Catrina? . . . not the other way around? After all, Catrina *was* the one who had "stolen" Joey's boyfriend when Joey had done absolutely nothing to her . . . why wasn't Joey trying to get Catrina back instead of Catrina acting like she was trying to get some kind of revenge on Joey?  
  
As all of these thoughts swam through Joey's confused mind, she progressively got angrier and angrier. In fact, she was so wrapped up in her emotions, that when she entered the empty library booth, she didn't even realize that Weald had finally caught up to right behind her . . . so she slammed the heavy door back in his face, accidentally. She walked a few steps across the tiny room and collapsed into a chair, retrieving her potions book out of her book bag and slamming it onto the table. Flam was so shaken up by all of the bangs and slams that were now echoing through the room, that he flew over to a chair in the very corner of the booth, curled up on the back of it, and cowered to himself.  
  
When Weald finally recovered from the mouthful of wood he had just received, he wrenched the heavy door open and smashed it shut behind himself. After forcefully chucking his book bag to the floor in front of the desk, he stormed over to the chair next to Joey, and flung himself into it. He shot a nasty glare at Joey, that clearly showed he was not in the mood to talk.  
  
Joey was now clearly aware of the fact that Weald did NOT want to even talk to her, so before they could ruin the tutoring session when it hadn't even started yet, she decided that she was going to have to say something to ease the tension. But she never got a chance to once Weald decided to cut her off before she even started talking.  
  
"Why do girls have to be so . . . so malicious?!" he snapped at her. It didn't really sound like a question that needed an answer, but Joey was just pissed that he would even generalize the female species like that . . . based *solely* on Catrina's actions. Oh, but that was *definitely* not the worst of what he said. He wasn't quite finished yet . . . he still had to piss Joey off a little further. "Maybe, *Joe*, if you could have just held onto Amos, Cat would still be mine right now!" he spat out. Joey stood up from her chair so fast, that it got thrown backwards into the wall behind her. Flam shied away even further into the corner of the booth and began to tremble hysterically.  
  
Joey was almost positive her eyes were now bugging out of her head at this point, and she was so furious, that she wasn't even sure that she'd be able to respond to him. But she soon decided that she was DEFINITELY not too angry to bitch at him since he deserved it so much.  
  
"Don't you DARE take this out on me, Weald!!! DON'T YOU DARE!!!" she barked back, though it sounded more like a threat than anything else. "Catrina would have cheated on you whether Amos was single or not! That's just the kind of slut she is!!! She would have cheated on you with *anybody*! In fact, I bet you Amos is not the only other guy she's been with since you two got together!!!"  
  
Jason jumped out of his chair at this point, as well, and, as he took a step forward so that he was towering over Joey, he grabbed her upper arm and tightened his grip threateningly. All the muscles in his body were seriously clenched and bulging through his shirt in rage.  
  
"She would NOT have cheated on me with *anybody*!!! And Cat is not a slut, *Joe*," he drawled Joey's name out slowly as if in disgust. " . . . she *will* eventually come crawling back to me!" he shouted in anger. "And I'm going to take this out on WHOEVER THE HELL I FEEL LIKE TAKING THIS OUT ON!" Joey thought her hair was getting blown backwards as he shouted in her face. But she made sure her expression remained blank. It was her perfect poker face, and she knew that it was the one thing that could get under his skin the worst if she seemed to be unaffected by his tirade and maddening grasp on her arm.  
  
Though she was still practically shaking with a mix fury and adrenaline, she wanted to completely piss him off without forcing him to do her any bodily harm . . . so in a perfectly calm voice, she spoke up into his face. "If you insist on remaining in denial, *Weald*, I would highly appreciate it if you could return to your chair so that we could start our tutoring session without anymore of your pointless temper tantrums. You happen to be scaring my bird."  
  
A rigid crease was now planted permanently between Weald's eyebrows, and Joey was almost certain that she could see his left eye start to twitch. She had to contain her laughter as further signs of his 'cracking' became more and more apparent. It was all too sweet a revenge for someone that she disliked so much.  
  
"God! Why do you just . . . *act* like that sometimes?! At times . . . I just . . . *hate* you!" he spat out pathetically as he backed away and slouched back into his own chair. Joey cocked an eyebrow at him as she tried harder to contain her mirth. This boy certainly did blow hot and cold.  
  
"Well, you're entitled to," she replied flatly as she lovingly walked over to Flam, helped him back up onto her shoulder, and too took her seat.  
  
"Why?" he asked plainly, as if the one worded question was enough to explain his confusion.  
  
"Why what?" she spat back, sounding a little annoyed.  
  
"Why do you treat me like that? Like you're so much better than I am?" Joey gave him a look that said she thought he'd gone mental.  
  
"Excuse me?!" she practically yelled back in his face, causing Flam to recoil again. When she realized her outburst, she tried to calm her voice down to simply an annoyed tenor. "Weald, *I* should be the one asking *you* that very question! If you would just get off your stupid high horse long enough to stand on the same ground as the rest of us, you'd realize how badly you've treated people . . . how badly you've treated *me*!" she trailed of hoarsely and her gaze drifted from his face to the desktop as the feelings of last night's quidditch practice resurfaced. But then her eyes hardened once again and she met his gaze with a bit more resentment than was there previously. ". . . Or have you *already* forgotten about last night's quidditch practice?"  
  
Weald gave her, what she thought, looked to be a pained expression. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, however, knowing how it was practically impossible to get someone as egotistical as Weald to feel bad about how they've treated people in the past. She was about to say something else, but was cut off by Weald before she could.  
  
"Joey . . ." he began with an unexpected tone of kindness. It was a surprise to both of them that he had accidentally used her preferred nickname over the usual 'Joe' that he had always addressed her with. "I know that last night I treated you pretty . . ."  
  
"Cruelly? Unfairly? Maliciously? Take your pick!" she snapped, but her eyes contained the hurt appearance that disproved the validity of her painted-on emotions. Weald's eyebrows furrowed with concern as she subconsciously began to stroke her bird, as a source of comfort.  
  
"I know . . . I know," he admitted awkwardly as he broke eye contact and instead began focusing on the cover of the potions book on the desk. "But you have to realize . . . that as Captain and Beater for the Gryffindor team, I have to . . . I mean . . . I felt that . . . er . . . that my position . . . or my status was . . ." he trailed off trying to find the right words. But he didn't need to when Joey found one for him.  
  
" . . . threatened?" she practically whispered. Weald flinched at the word, but brought his gaze up to meet her face again. He had to use all the will power in himself just to hold her gaze as he nodded yes. Joey's eyebrows crinkled together in apprehension. She knew how hard it was for him to admit that to her, and she was surprised to hear his voice break the awkward silence, once again.  
  
"It's just kind of hard, is all . . . I don't know . . . but sometimes I think . . . 'Why would a *girl* be considered my equivalent' . . . you know? . . . Why should I be forced to have someone who is so much smaller and so much less . . . *experienced* than me, be my right-hand beater?" Joey nodded as he expressed his emotions. Though she found herself a bit offended by his sexist opinions on things, she had to give him credit for finally getting over himself and spilling how he really felt.  
  
"I know it's hard, Jason," she comforted; only cringing slightly from the fact that she forced herself to use his first name . . . she hoped it would be taken as almost a piece offering. "But you *have* to realize that WE ARE A TEAM . . . we are on the SAME SIDE, therefore we *need* to work together . . . NOT against each other. The way you treated me last practice, made me want to quit . . . and at the time, I'm sure that's what you're intensions were. However, judging by the fact that you are trying to explain yourself to me, I'm sure that you, as well as myself, are willing to give this another shot." He nodded in agreement.  
  
"Truce?" he asked, and leaned forward while opening up his arms in an effort to offer her a hug. Joey cocked an eyebrow at him and simply held her hand out in an effort to substitute the hug for a handshake. Weald looked down at her hand and a funny smirk crept up his face. He dropped his hug-poised arms and gregariously seized her outstretched hand and shook it as he started to laugh.  
  
"What?" she asked a little exasperated as he continued to chuckle. She felt like he was laughing at her.  
  
"You can trust me, Joe," he said, going back to the original nickname he always used for her. "Now that we've come to a quidditch truce . . . I'll *just* treat you like my friend . . . 'one of the guys' if you will. I won't hit on you anymore."  
  
"Oh, is that what you call it?" she said as she began to laugh. "I wouldn't exactly call how you were treating me 'hitting on me!'"  
  
"Oh, come on! You know that you were attracted to my sexy charm!" Joey rolled her eyes blatantly, and Weald gave her a playful bat on the arm. "Well, you know *most* girls can't resist it!"  
  
"Yeah . . . until they talk to you!" she laughed sarcastically.  
  
"Ouch . . ." he said loosing the playful ness in his tone. " . . . very ouch."  
  
"Well, it's a known fact that you're a player, Weald. You definitely have to get over that reputation before you start calling yourself charming!" He nodded, knowingly.  
  
"But it's so much easier to just get with whatever girls I want whenever I want them!" he griped, sounding a lot like a whiny child.  
  
Oh, pulease!" she scoffed. "And here I was thinking that you just learned a lesson by getting a taste of your own medicine!"  
  
"But this isn't the way it's supposed to work! I'm supposed to be able to treat a girl like shit, still have her put up with me, and then ditch her whenever I see fit!" He sounded so pathetically serious, that Joey couldn't help to give a derisive laugh. She couldn't listen to him continue to tell her his theories on relationships any longer, so she tried to bring the subject back to Catrina.  
  
"So why do you care so much that she dumped you? You guys never *really* were even together, were you?"  
  
"uhhh . . . *I* thought we were! But apparently people have different opinions when it comes to being 'with' someone . . ."  
  
"Apparently," Joey responded in a slightly mock tone that Weald didn't happen to catch. "But, Weald . . . you could do so much better than Catrina. If you *really* decided to start treating girls with a little more respect, you could have a *lot* going for you! Catrina was just a stupid, boy-obsessed floozy, that simply used you to-" she hesitated for a moment before letting out a sigh and finishing her thought, ". . . I *think* . . . piss me off," she said with half a laugh at the ridiculousness of her own statement.  
  
"Come on, Joe! That's ridiculous! Why would she personally want to piss you off?"  
  
"You think I know?!" she snapped. "SHE'S the one who helped Amos cheat on me, SHE'S the one who's threatened my friends . . . not to mention threatened *me*. And, most blatant of all, she keeps "coincidentally" showing up in these areas where I've been scheduled to be at, and she's always making-out with some new guy that she has just recently hooked onto a leash! I *think* it's safe to say, Weald, that she is DEFINITELY trying her hardest to get under my skin!!!"  
  
"Oh shit," he said more to himself than aloud.  
  
"what?"  
  
"That would definitely explain a few things . . ." he said quietly. "Joey . . . you know earlier today . . . when you saw Catrina and I . . . you know-"  
  
"YES, I know! . . . go on," she prompted, thoroughly hoping to avoid his description of what she had seen earlier.  
  
"Well, I had gone to Professor McShailty to find out the information about my tutoring this evening, and she followed me there. I didn't see her until I had come out of the classroom and closed the door behind me . . . that's when she practically lounged at me." he said shaking his head trying to recall the situation more clearly. "I was so shocked by it, that she even had to pin me up against the door to keep me on her. I just figured she hadn't gotten enough of me from the other night, you know?" he inquired, and got a deliberate roll of the eyes from Joey.  
  
"Okay . . . but tell me why you think that had anything to do with her problem with me?"  
  
"Well, like I said . . . I *thought* that she hadn't gotten enough of me, but when I questioned her about it she mumbled something about YOU coming down the hall. Before I had even a chance to respond, I was pinned up against the wall again and just decided to not question a good thing!" he rationalized as though it made perfect sense. Joey didn't pay any attention to his arrogant comment, though, because she was concentrating greatly on trying to figure out the information he had just fed her.  
  
"But none of this explains any of the 'why' questions!" she said frustratedly. "WHY does she want to make me so damn angry? I haven't done *anything* to her!!!"  
  
"On the contrary Joe, just being you is a big enough aggravation for her! You realize this is all just because she's horribly jealous of you, right?" Joey quirked an eyebrow at his comment.  
  
"Why would she be jealous of me?" she voiced, shaking her head bewildered. Weald was giving her a very odd expression when she said this. "What?" she snapped.  
  
"Must I explain?" he scoffed. "You really aren't that smart, are you?" By the look Joey was giving him, he decided that maybe she really did need an explanation. "Joe . . . let me explain this to you as simply as possible . . . You're *easily* the smartest girl in our grade, you are extremely attractive, you are athletic, you have a *rockin'* body . . ." he started trailing off as he noticed the death glare she was shooting him as he subconsciously scanned her up and down as he said that last part.  
  
"The point is . . ." he said, clearing his head from the daze he was beginning to yield to. " . . .there are *very* few things that she can outdo you in . . . one of those things is being a slut . . . she can't hold onto a single guy, and from what I hear, one of the guys she's been eyeing lately happens to be *your* boy, Sirius . . . consequently, giving her another reason to hate you more! The only thing I think of that she has to be 'proud' of, is the fact that she's *extremely* good at transfiguration, and what's special about that? What I'm basically trying to say, is that she has every reason to be jealous of you, and I'm sure that deep down you knew that . . . you just refused to admit it because you're too damn modest."  
  
After the shit-load of complements Weald had just put across to Joey, he was certain that a simple 'thank you' would be in store. Needless to say, he *definitely* was not expecting her to respond so plainly by asking the question she did.  
  
"Catrina is good at transfiguration?" she inquired, trying to sound as casual about it as possible. If this were true, it would definitely explain a few things about her ability to transform into a cat at will.  
  
"Well . . . yes, as a matter of fact, she has top marks in the class," he replied, not being able to suppress the suspicion in his voice caused by the bizarreness of her question. "She was actually placed into Gryffindor because of McGonagall being the transfiguration teacher . . . apparently Catrina's mum was the transfiguration professor at her old school . . . you've heard of The Salem Witch Academy in America? . . . I believe that's what it's called . . ." he waited for Joey to nod before he continued on. "Well, I already explained to you the whole issue with her getting 'relocated' from her old school . . . needless to say her parents were pretty angry with her . . . but like I said before, her family is *very* powerful and wealthy, and they made sure she was exactly where they wanted her when she got shipped off to Hogwarts. Now that I think about it, she probably would have been stuck in Slytherin if her parents hadn't interceded . . . at least *now* I think that, knowing what a bitch she is . . ." he trailed off as he started laughing miserably to himself.  
  
"How do you know all of this?" she asked with a tone of interest. Weald gave her a split-second sideways glance, but it was still long enough for her to notice his look of offense.  
  
"You really think I'm bigheaded enough to shag a girl and not find out *anything* about her?!" Joey raised both of her eyebrows and gave him a surprised look. "Alright . . . I admit she did talk a lot. How could I have NOT caught on to at least a *few* things she blabbed on about?" Joey scoffed at his remark.  
  
"You're sick," she said flatly.  
  
"And this is news to you?" he smirked. Joey rolled her eyes. She didn't have a moment to respond, though, because all of the sudden, the library booth's door was flung open, smacking loudly into the wall as it did. Flam screeched loudly, and Joey jumped in her seat at the unexpected crash. But she couldn't suppress her feelings of anger when she realized who it was who had just entered in such a noisy fashion.  
  
"Catrina!" Weald burst out as he leapt out of his seat. He immediately regretted his reaction to seeing her, and tried his best to 'play it cool' from there on out. "so . . . uhhh . . . what're you doing here?" His voice was so forcefully calmed, that Joey would have laughed if she wasn't so distracted by the unexpected whore that had suddenly showed up in front of her just moments before.  
  
"Oh, Weald!" Catrina cried dramatically as she ran over to him and wrapped her delicate little arms around his neck. "I can't believe you walked away like that!"  
  
"Oh, no?" he asked sardonically. "So you wanted me to stay and watch you get it on with that dick weed, Amos?" he managed to growl out through his blind wave of anger.  
  
"Don't be silly, Jason . . ." she said with an extremely counterfeit tone. "Amos means nothing to me . . . it was a stupid little thing . . . you shouldn't get all worked up about it!"  
  
"But-" was all he got out before Cat pressed her overly-glossed lips up to his mouth and hung on to the cuff of his collar so he couldn't pull away. Weald was slowly leaning back farther and farther away from Catrina, obviously trying to pull out of the kiss . . . but the relentless Barbie doll continued to lean farther and farther forward into him. Eventually, Catrina even began making little moaning noises, trying to cover up what sounded like whimpers from Weald as he tried to draw away without hurting her. Even Flam began making shuddering motions on Joey's shoulder as though he was disgusted by the sight. Joey thought she was going to hurl as she just gaped at them in nausea. She was waiting for Weald to do something to stop it as the kiss went on. Joey soon found herself practically tapping her foot when Catrina *finally* pulled away.  
  
The stupid tart even had the nerve to flash a priggish smirk over at Joey as she began to straighten out the collar of Jason's shirt that she herself, messed up. "That was nice," Cat breathed out sultrily. Joey couldn't help but roll her eyes, and when Weald glanced over at her and received one of her famous 'what are you waiting for' looks, he soon straightened himself out and glared down at Catrina.  
  
"Shouldn't you *be* somewhere right now?" he snapped out callously. Catrina shrugged indifferently. "I thought you had detention tonight," he said, still not losing the insensitive tone.  
  
"I do," she snapped. "But McShailty doesn't want me there until 7:45, and I've still got five minutes until then." Joey suddenly found herself glancing over at the clock on the wall. She hadn't realized that she'd been sitting there talking to Weald for forty-five minutes already.  
  
"I think you should go," he barked at Cat. "And I don't think you should talk to me again . . . at least not outside of quidditch."  
  
"What are you trying to say?" she squeaked out in a forcedly sweet voice [one that would have put Umbridge to shame, no doubt].  
  
"I *mean* that I want you to LEAVE . . . ME . . . ALONE!" he said slowly, enunciating each syllable clearly as though he were talking to a partially deaf person. "You can't just cheat on me and then expect me to take you back! What kind of drongo do you take me for?!" Catrina's eyes flared in rage as Weald's mocking tone soaked into her head. Her jaw was clenched, and her lips were a thin line across her face as she glared up into his eyes.  
  
"How dare you?!" She snapped. "Mark my words, Weald . . . you *will* pay for this. There is no way that you're gonna get away with treating *me* like this without having it come back to bite you in the ass. . . I am *so* going to get you back in the best way in know how!" and with that, she turned to Joey, flashed her one more threatening glare, and stomped out of the library booth. Flam hooted loudly in support of her decision to finally leave.  
  
"Don't trip in those heels on your way out!" Joey called after her. Without turning around, Cat held her middle finger up over her shoulder and continued out towards the exit of the library; Joey and Weald cracking up in the background of the library booth.  
  
"Good God, she's pure evil!" Joey laughed. Weald nodded in agreement.  
  
"And what was with that threat she gave me?" he asked sounding both apprehensive and contemptuous at the same time.  
  
"I'm not sure . . . but all I know is that that girl gives out more threats than she could possibly keep track of! Between my friends and I, we are already scheduled for two paybacks and a stolen boyfriend," Joey laughed.  
  
"Damn! I almost feel bad for Professor McShailty . . . he has to deal with her for the next two hours!"  
  
"Yeah . . ." Joey agreed. "So does my- . . . OMIGOD!" she bellowed out, causing Jason to take a step back in surprise.  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Oh, God!" she said again. "Remus and Laura . . . and now Catrina is- . . . Oh no! Weald, are you ABSOLUTELY SURE that she has detention with McShailty right now?" Joey asked frantically.  
  
"I'm more sure about that than I am that my name is Jason Weald," he said confidently. By the look on Joey's face, he could tell that something was really out of place. "Why? What's wrong?" Joey just shook her head.  
  
"Nothing . . . nothing," she whispered more to herself than aloud. "We'll just have to hope that Remus has made his move in the past forty-five minutes of detention that he's had so far . . . because I'm pretty sure he's going to have a really hard time trying to do it any other time tonight now that Catrina's joining the party," she said dejectedly as Weald's face continued to look bewildered.  
  
Joey noticed his expression, and before she had to get into explaining anything she changed the subject. "So! Let's get started on this potions work, shall we?"  
  
Weald didn't bother to protest as Joey flipped open the potions book and retrieved McShailty's planner from her backpack. They began working diligently on helping Weald think through some of his critical thinking problems on his potions homework.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It was 9:30 by the time Joey and Weald had completely finished their potions work, and since they were both getting too restless to do any other homework, they decided to head back to the Gryffindor tower.  
  
They were making their way up the final staircase towards the Gryffindor portrait hole, when, suddenly, a big brown barn owl came swooping in through one of the high windows of the castle walls. Flam saw the bird first, and began hooting excitedly as the barn owl came swooping down towards Joey. Without landing anywhere, the owl dropped its letter down into Joey's outstretched arms, and turned around and flew right back out the window again, no doubt on its way for an evening of hunting.  
  
Joey laughed to herself a bit and glanced over towards Weald who was looking at her amusedly as she began to chuckle. "Leave it to my mum to not wait until the breakfast mail delivery to send me my letter!" Joey was really excited to hear back from her mom about the plans for that year's winter break. She decided to wait for Sirius to open the letter since it was most likely for the both of them.  
  
"Oddsbodkins!" Weald said the new password to the picture of the fat lady, and she swung open, allowing them entrance to the warmly-lit common room. As the pair entered the Gryffindor quarters, they immediately spotted three people lounged on the furniture in front of the fire.  
  
James was sitting in the big, squishy red chair with Lily sitting across his lap. The dark haired boy was obviously whispering little words of flattery in the red heads ear, because she kept leaning back and laughing as they exchanged little pecks on the lips.  
  
"I think I 'm going to be sick," Weald mumbled quietly so that only Joey could hear. "there's no way I'll ever be able to stomach seeing Potter make little smoochy faces at his girlfriend." Joey choked back laughter as she began to notice how ridiculous James really did look. He was presently cooing in Lily's ear, and he lips were all puckered up as his eyes and eyebrows were all scrunched together. He looked like how a grandmother does when seeing her grandchildren at Christmas time.  
  
"I think it's sweet," she giggled. Weald, of course, rolled his eyes. As they got a bit closer to the group, they noticed that James wasn't wearing his glasses, and that they were, in fact, up on top of Lily's head. ['That would explain the squinting,' Joey mused to herself.]  
  
The third party of the group was Sirius, who was sitting, rather alone, on the large red Gryffindor couch. He was stretched out so that he feet were resting on the brown coffee table in front of him, and he had a rather large book sitting up on his lap as he thumbed through the pages. Sirius looked up from his book as the two approached, and a huge grin applied itself to his attractive features when he saw Joey. As his eye lingered over towards Weald, however, his smile faded a bit, once he realized the situation at hand.  
  
"Hey, Sirius," Weald greeted him warmly as he stuck his hand out for a friendly hand shake. Sirius looked down at the hand out in front of him and then back up towards Joey's face. When she gave him a reassuring smile, he proceeded to grasp Weald's hand sociably and acknowledged the guys peace offering.  
  
"So how was your guys' tutoring session?" Sirius forced himself to be friendly. James had told him the story of what had happened the evening before with Joey and the whole quidditch thing, and Sirius would have liked nothing more than to rip the Captain's heart out once he had heard that he had made Joey cry.  
  
When Weald finally left up to the dorms and Joey and Sirius were left down in the common room alone except for the snuggly couple over by the fire, they, too, decided to curl up in front of the flames on the couch. Flam found a cozy spot on the back of the couch, and he curled up as the fires heat caused him to doze off quickly. Sirius plopped himself down at the edge of the couch he had been sitting on before, and opened his arms up, inviting Joey to curl up on his lap. Kicking her shoes off and stuffing her mother's letter in her pocket, she gladly accepted his summons and wrapped herself up in the warmth that he offered.  
  
"So how did your tutoring session *really* go?" Sirius asked as he wrapped his arms around her slender waste and hugged her close.  
  
"It *actually* went okay . . . I think Weald and I have really come to an understanding, and quidditch practice should not be so hellish from now on." She said with a tone of relief apparent in her voice. "And besides . . . we definitely have one major thing in common that's really gonna help us get along . . . Now we *both* have reason to despise Catrina with a passion."  
  
"I see," Sirius said calmly. "He just better not be making you still feel uncomfortable, is all . . . I know how he can be with some girls, and there's no way in hell I'd let him treat you like that . . ." Joey smiled appreciatively at her boyfriend and planted a small kiss on his cheek.  
  
"He's actually gotten a lot better now that we've come to a truce . . . and I think the tutoring sessions are really going to help him bring his grades in potions up."  
  
"I think I'm considering getting bad marks in potions, now, just so I can have you as my wonderful tutor," Sirius teased. Joey smiled warmly.  
  
"Do I detect a hint of jealousy from the fact that Weald is stealing away some of my attention?" she questioned playfully.  
  
"Maybe I am jealous," Sirius grinned good-humoredly as he leaned his face in towards hers. A smile barely played across her lips before she pressed her mouth up to his in a sweet, affectionate kiss. She pulled away for half a second and her smile spread all the way across her cheeks before he pulled her into his lips once more. The kiss became more passionate, and Sirius' tongue ran slowly along her bottom lip before drawing her lips apart and entering her mouth.  
  
Joey ran her hands through Sirius' silky dark hair, and sent tingles down his neck as she teased his scalp. Sirius' hands, which had been affectionately wrapped around her waist, were now moving up under her shirt, along her back. He was lightly massaging her lower back with his fingertips as he pressed her farther into him. Sirius was about to let out a loud moan as Joey began massaging the back of his neck, but before he could, they were both suddenly startled out of their reveries by a loud choking noise that sounded like smothered laughter. They grudgingly, yet promptly, pulled away from each other enough to each get a good look over in the direction of Lily and James. The two chair-occupants continued to flash their Chesire cat smiles at Joey and Sirius, as the couch-occupants flashed them death glares.  
  
"What?" Sirius asked callously.  
  
"Hmmm? Oh . . . nothing," James said nonchalantly. "Do carry on . . ."  
  
"uhhh . . . do you mind?" Joey asked awkwardly as James and Lily continued to survey them.  
  
"Oh, no! We don't mind at all!" Lily said casually. "Please, do continue."  
  
Joey and Sirius exchanged looks between each other before looking back at the chair-occupants and giving them almost identical, 'this is not funny' glares. James and Lily smirked for a moment longer before James finally caved in.  
  
"Oh, alright . . ." he said with false exasperation; the amusement was too apparent in his tone to be believable. "We'll let you guys be *alone*. . ." he laughed as both he and Lily stood up, grabbed their stuff and headed over towards the girls' dorm rooms.  
  
Both Sirius and Joey couldn't help to laugh as the comical pair made their way up the stairs, and out of sight.  
  
"Oh! I forgot to tell you!" she exclaimed happily. "I got a letter back from my mum regarding our winter vacation!"  
  
"Great!" Sirius said excitedly. Joey tore open the letter and held it out for both of them to read at the same time.  
  
Dear Joanne (and Sirius, if you read this),  
  
It's so wonderful to hear from you, dear! Your father and I were so excited to receive mail from our little baby girl! Daddy does say hello, by the way, sweetheart. (He's busy right now with a patient that he will be giving surgery to next week.) But he told me to send his love and that he can't wait to see you at Christmas.  
  
I think it's a wonderful idea for Sirius to join us this Holiday! The entire family would be delighted to see him join us! Your father and I have discussed the situation, and we've decided that, as a family, we'll go up to our cabin in America after we spend a few days at home and get your things packed up and ready. We'd love to have Sirius accompany us! I've already given Josh, Brian, and Sam the heads up, and they've already cleared it with their work, so they'll be able to come for certain.  
  
We know that Sirius has never been to the United States before, but we're sure it will be a wonderful experience for him, and that he'll love Lake Tahoe, California. I'm sure you kids will have a ball skiing, and I know that you will have fun teaching Sirius how to ski for his first time.  
  
So, please tell Sirius that we will hope to see him join us for the holidays, and that we will look forward to his company on our trip to the U.S.! I hope you have a wonderful time left in this semester of school, sweetie, and I'll see you in about a month and a half! Send my love to all your friends!  
  
love you much! - Mum  
  
p.s. Joey, dear . . . even if you don't let Sirius read this message, I just have to ask you one question before I seal this letter up. Are you two finally a couple yet?! Your father and I are dying to know! It's about time you two started admitting how crazy you are for each other . . . Well, I don't know. I'll just have to wait for your response, I guess. And give Flam a treat for me.  
  
So, I totally think I deserve a certificate for the most abrupt ending award. What do you guys think?! LOL! I think that's two in a row that I've left in an awkward spot . . . Oh well!!! Hehehe! So I hoped you guys thought that was up to standards, and I'm sorry if it was too short or too messy or not all-together grammatically correct. I just hope you guys enjoyed it, and I'll try to update the next one as soon as I have time!!! Please review! I love you guys so much for every single review, and I eat them up! Okie-dokie . . . so I totally am about to go to bed right now . . . it's really, *really* late, and I don't have anymore time to type this! Please forgive . . . *collapses on desk and falls asleep* LOL! I guess it's not that bad, but still, I'm gonna update this really fast and jump in bed . . . but I think in order to do that I need to stop rambling! So buh- bye!!!  
  
-Sara (your one and only Sportzjunkie) 


	25. A Good Day in the End

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Fanfiction is SOOOO Awesome!!! Dude!!! Omigod!!! They ACTUALLY updated the character list so that there are SOOOO many more characters to choose from on their little 'search' thingie-ma-bobber!!!! I started screaming and freaking out!!! I've been waiting for them to do that for ages!!! YES!!! Now I can actually look up stories on Oliver Wood!!! Hallelujah!!! Praise the Lord! Fanfiction is that much better now!!! Woo Hoo!!! Okay . . . sorry about that . . . I'm done now . . . really . . . onto the real stuff:  
  
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Phew!!!! You guys rock my world!!! I love you all soooooooo much! Goodness . . . thirty freakin' reviews since the last time I updated and nine of you were new!!! All I can say is: Ahhhhhhhhhhh! I LOVE YOU ALL!!! . . . so I'm gonna take the time out of my crazy schedule to send my love to each and everyone of you!!!  
  
Jenstarz- lol! Yes, yes . . . deeper side to Weald!!! Hehehe! That's what I was shooting for . . .but I couldn't make him *too* nice, right?! LOL! His character is after all, selfish, cocky, and way too arrogant . . . and I couldn't have possibly taken all of those lovely characteristics away!!! Hehehe! As for Catrina . . . let's just say I took your advice w/ the whole 'and Joey should be the one to do it' thing . . . Hope you enjoy this chapter!!!  
  
Sugarcoatedcandy- LOL! your review was so sweet! And I'm definitely glad you don't care about my grammatical errors and what not . . .hehehe! Lord knows they're there! Hope you like this next one much!!!  
  
Singingvalentine- Hehehe! So many blush-worthy compliments!!! Goodness! Hehehe! Thank you SO freakin' much for the support! You rock! LOL! And no . . . I haven't considered writing a book. lol! I think I love fanfiction too much! Hehehe! But I hope you keep R&R!!! much luv!  
  
Abarraine- Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!!! Your words mean so much and I hope you continue to R&R!!!  
  
Headmaster Cromwell- I'm gonna need some more info! LOL! The site you gave me doesn't work, and I'm kind of confused about the whole thing! I'm extremely busy at this moment in time, so I doubt I would really have much time to join the game anywayz between school, sports, and, of course, writing fanfiction. . . thanks for the offer, though! I totally appreciate it!  
  
Kiwi- Yes, yes! Included mush just like everybody was begging for!!! LOL! I'm so happy you've continued to read and review my story after all this time!!! And thanks for the e-mails and all of that! It's great hearing from you and I hope you continue to e-mail me just to tell me what's up in the world of Kansas!!! As for me . . . school's finally come like I always knew it inevitably would . . . but I'm still not ready!!! *falls to knees sobbing* Thank GOD I have fanfiction to come home to everyday!!! LOL! And I hope you like this next chapter too!!!  
  
Sakura- Hehehe! Hope highschool continues to be as awesome as it has been so far for you!!! I'm just starting school now, and I'm totally depressed about it!!! I swear . . . school would be sooooo much more likable if there was some way to attend it and still be able to get up later than six in the morning! LOL!!! Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you find time to review as well! *grin*  
  
Starry dreamer- Thanks you SO MUCH for taking the time to review!!! I'm really pleased that you took even a few moments to hit that review button to tell me what you think!!! It means so much for me to come home to some reviews as sweet as that! I truly hope you like this next installment as well! LOL!  
  
Matthea- ALRIGHT!!! LOL! HERE'S MORE MORE MORE!!! Hehehe! Thanx for reviewing! Your 4 words of encouragement mean more than I can tell you right now in this response! Please keep R&R and I'll keep writing!!!  
  
Lady dragons- LOL! End? Did that sound like an ending? Uh oh . . . LOL! After 24 chapters . . . that would have been one pathetic ending! LOL! I can guarantee that you will *definitely* know when this story is over! Hehehe! And I definitely wouldn't end it with a letter from Joey's mom! But anywayz . . . Hope you keep reading . . . even though now I'm paranoid that you might not check in anymore sense you think that this story is over . . . BUT HEY!!! Thanx for the review anywayz! Lol! Hope to hear from you again! *wink*  
  
Casco- Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! Thanx sis . . . though I wish you didn't point that out in a review!!! Gosh! Now everyone will know what a brain-dead author I am!!! . . . but at least no one caught on to the 'Professor Weald' blunder I made when trying to write 'Professor McShailty'!!! Hehehe! I caught *that* one on my own . . . and changed it before anyone had enough time to get confused by it! Lol!!! Please keep reviewing! [I know I don't have to ask you to keep *reading* . . . but sometimes you slack off when it comes to the reviewing part . . .and HEY! What can I say? I work *Really* hard to write these chapters, and the *least* you could do would be to take 15 seconds out of your day and tell me what you think! Huh, Suga?! Lol!] much luv!  
  
Marauder-luver-forever- Hey gurl!!! LOL! thanx for the review!!! And I'll manage to shove some more fluff into this chapter too!!! Lol! I know that's what you guys are dying for!!! Hehehe! But there is some other stuff in this chapter that I think people might find pretty interesting too . . . specially since you guys are all talking about how much you hate Cat!!! . . . but I dunno! Guess we'll just have to see! Please R&R! Much luv!  
  
Padfootluvr88- Cool cool! Thanx so much for reading and reviewing! Hope you like this next one too!!!  
  
Greenfairie- AHAHAHAHA! Yes, yes . . . I thought we've already established the fact that I'm evil?! LOL! Well . . . there's PLENTY of Remus in this chapter . . . so eat your heart out!!! LOL! Just don't yell at me!!! *cowers in corner* Things will all be well in the end! I promise!!! Please continue to R&R! much luv!  
  
Lj- ROTFL!!! Yes! Hear hear!!! Gotta luv those moms . . . what is their job good for if they don't have the option of constantly embarrassing us? Hehehe! I can't wait for you to meet Joey's mom at winter break! It's going to be so much fun writing her entire family! Please continue to R&R! Thanx so much for the review!  
  
Boy Crazy Magician Chick- hehehe! Thanx so much for reviewing! You don't have to apologize for not reviewing sooner! I'll take your reviews any time! I'm just so appreciative to receive them! Anywayz, glad you've liked it so much, and I hope this next chapter is to your liking as well!!!  
  
Anonymous (kaveloz@yahoo.com)- LOL! 'Anonymous' . . . hmmmm . . . haven't we met somewhere before? Your name sounds so familiar! LOL! JK! Hope you like this next chapter! Thanx for reviewing!  
  
Aminmelanaur- Awwwwww man!!! You totally ROCK, girl!!! Damn! Your review was so awesomely inspiring!!! LOL! And you had me laughing like crazy!!! Sorry about keeping you from the "za and fage" . . . lol! but I'm totally happy that you like my story!!! Thanks SO MUCH!!! I really hope you continue to R&R my work . . . it's totally entertaining reading what you have to say about it! I just can't even put into words how much that review meant to me . . . LOL! "I've been needin to piss for like, two hours, and I can't get away from my puter, dude. It's like fucking coke!" LOL!!! You totally had me in pieces!!! Much luv!!!  
  
Audriana- Thanx so much!!! And I'm totally sorry if you've had to wait a while . . . school's just started along w/ volleyball . . . and my times being swallowed up!!! I got this chapter out as fast as I could w/out making it sound totally rushed! Hope you like it much!!!  
  
Me- Hehehe . . . WOW!!! Thanx for the compliment. . . *Me*!!! hehehe! Please keep R&R!!! and I hope you like this next one!!!  
  
Glitter kitty- WOW!!! Serious compliment! Your favorite story? Am I worthy of such a compliment?! Thank you so much! I hope you like this next chapter as well! Please continue to R&R and I'll definitely continue to write!!! Much luv!!!  
  
Abby- AHHHHHHHHHHH!!! WHEN YOU WRITE IN ALL CAPS IT SEEMS THAT MUCH MORE INTENSE, HUH?! LOL!!! THANKS FOR THE COMPLIMENT . . . AND THE COMMAND!!! LOL! HOPE YOU CONTINUE TO R&R!!! I'LL GET MY UPDATES OUT ASAP!!! JUST RELAX BEFORE THAT TIME!!! MUCH LUV!  
  
BlackDragonFly- LOL! Confusing . . . well, yes . . . but I'm glad you *adore* it anywayz!!! Thanks so much! As for what's gonna happen in America . . . I'm excited too!!! Hehehe! I think that will be a lot of fun to write, and I hope you stay tuned in because I think I'll start winter break next chapter!!! LOL! And I know I'm going to have a ball introducing Joey's parents and her entire family for that matter into the story as well! Thanks for R&R!!!  
  
Snap- LOL! I love Flam too!!! It's good to hear that other people are appreciating the little things in my story that I'm having so much fun writing!!! I hope you continue to R&R and I hope you enjoy this next chapter as much as the others!!!  
  
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And to all of you:  
  
OMIGOD!!! I'm so sorry it took so long to get this chapter out!!! It took me like three sittings just to pack it all into a chapter!!! But it's a *majorly* long one, so I hope you all appreciate this!!! . . . this is Chapter 25?! Whoa! LOL! That's a lot, huh?! Hehehe! And you guys totally have yourselves to thank for that! Would I still be here writing if I didn't have all of your support? Of course not! You guys keep me motivated to write and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for just taking a few moments out of your busy lives and telling me what you think about this fic.!!! This chapter was really written for each and every one of you!!! Cheers! = ]  
  
-Sara  
  
If I know what love is, it is because of you.  
  
-Herman Hesse  
  
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When the two of them had finished reading the letter, Joey recklessly folded it up and crammed it back into the envelope. She turned eagerly to face her boyfriend, whose lap she was still sitting on.  
  
"Omigod, Sirius! This winter break is going to be so much fun!!! I just can't wait!" Joey was so wound up, that she began bouncing up and down on Sirius lap in excitement like a four year old would do on Christmas. Sirius, who [don't get me wrong] was excited too, was not even *close* to being prepared to have a fully grown person hysterically jumping up and down on his lap. To say the least, he was now in distress as he let out a pathetic whimper.  
  
"WHOA! Joey! Let's keep the bouncing to a minimum!" he laughed with a noticeable pitch of tenderness.  
  
"Oh! Sorry, Sirius!" Joey smiled sheepishly and hopped onto the cushion next to him. "I didn't damage *anything,* did I?" she asked, trying in vain to hide her obvious tone of laughter. Sirius narrowed his eyes at her in a playful manner.  
  
"Hardy-Har-Har . . ." he drawled out slowly in mock laughter.  
  
"I'll try to be more gentle next time," she joked. "Sometimes I forget how *fragile* my boyfriend is . . ."  
  
"Fragile?! This coming from the girl who practically just treated my crotch like a freakin' trampoline?! I'd say if *that* is considered being fragile . . . then the entire male species is a rather large bunch of pansies!" Joey was cracking up by now. This, of course, was Sirius' intension, and he joined in laughing with her.  
  
"But we really *are* going to have a ton of fun in Tahoe . . ." Joey said confidently after their laughter had finally settled down. "My family and I haven't been up to the Tahoe house in such a long while! It's going to be so much fun with all of the snow!"  
  
"Yeah . . ." Sirius said a bit hesitantly. "But what's with this skee-ee- ing thing?" he asked awkwardly. Joey gave a laugh.  
  
"Skiing?" She questioned. She laughed as Sirius shrugged and nodded. She could only picture how funny it would be to see Sirius try to ski for the first time. "Don't worry! We'll have a ball! I haven't skied in a while either, so we can stick together on the bunny slope."  
  
"*Bunny* slope . . . huh? What kind of sport is this?"  
  
"Well . . . you strap long, skinny board-like things to each foot and then you kinda slide down a mountain like that!" she said with false confidence. Sirius was giving her a pitifully uneasy look. "It's really easy once you get the hang of it! *Really*!!!" Sirius still didn't look convinced.  
  
"Muggles do really weird things for fun," he said. "I can't believe that you expect me to fall down a mountain with gi-normous *sleds* attached to my feet . . . around a bunch of muggles, no less!" he ranted. Joey smiled sympathetically.  
  
"First of all, they're called *skis*, not *sleds* . . . and second of all, you will be *gliding* down the mountain . . . not falling!"  
  
"Well, by the sounds of it . . . I think I will be falling!" he laughed. "I just pity the poor muggle children that accidentally get in my path on the way down . . ." he trailed off shaking his head in a mock tone of grief. Joey punched his arm playfully.  
  
"You better NOT be falling down the mountain . . . because knowing you, you'll probably drag *me* down along with you!"  
  
"Of course I would!" he laughed. Joey just shook her head, not bothering to suppress the smile on her face.  
  
"Oh you would?" she said, leaning in towards his face.  
  
"Mhmm . . ." he mumbled as she pressed her lips up to his. It was a sweet, yet very brief kiss, and Joey pulled away before resting her head on his shoulder the moment afterwards. Sirius smiled at her loveliness and kissed her lightly on the top of the head before resting his head on hers.  
  
Joey let out a lengthy sigh of contentment and stared into the common room's blazing fire. They sat for a while in silence before Sirius spoke.  
  
"So did you see the job I did on Remus?" he asked with a tone of triumph in his voice.  
  
"Yup!" she laughed as she picked her head off his shoulder and looked up into his face. "His hair and clothes looked *really* nice . . . and they totally reminded me of somebody else . . ." she trailed off with a definite tone of amusement.  
  
"Really? Who?" he asked curiously. Joey rolled her eyes before speaking.  
  
"I can't imagine . . ." she said sarcastically as she ran a hand through Sirius' silky locks. "Couldn't have *possibly* been the guy who made him up that way . . ." Sirius started laughing.  
  
"So you're saying that *my* hair and clothes look *really* nice, then?" he questioned with interest, leaning in slightly towards her and causing her to lean slightly backwards.  
  
"No . . ." she drawled out slowly and teasingly as she leaned further back away from Sirius' body that was now practically leaning over her. "I said it looked good on *Remus* . . . I simply commented on the fact that it *reminded* me of you . . . not that it looked *good* on you . . ." Sirius was now leaning so far forward that Joey was now leaning away enough to be practically on her back. She had to conceal the grin that was pulling at the edge of her lips when she even began scooting away on her elbows as Sirius propped himself over her with his hands on either side of her. They were practically stretched out over the entire couch. "See the difference?" she managed to choke out without laughing.  
  
"Not really . . ." he practically hummed into her lips as he lowered his mouth to hers. Joey could feel her heart fluttering in her chest as the kiss deepened. The fire crackled on and continued to heat the room as the couple continued to entwine themselves on the couch.  
  
Within a matter of moments, Joey and Sirius were practically scared shitless when the portrait door flew open and a single person stormed in and stopped in the entry way with a loud gasp. Joey practically drop- kicked Sirius off of her, and it took the two of them a moment to regain themselves and comprehend the situation. Flam, who was severely jostled awake after Joey forcefully shoved Sirius to the other side of the couch, was now hooting in alarm at the present situation. Joey reached back and clamped the bird's mouth shut with her hand as her eyes focused on the figure who was still in the common room's entryway.  
  
"Jeeze! What the hell is going on in here?" Remus asked a bit callously. "You guys are lucky I'm not McGonagall . . . or I think we'd be in for a whole lot of lost house points right about now!"  
  
"God, Remus . . . you scared us half to death!" Sirius said with a tone of relief.  
  
"Apparently!" he laughed. "You guys didn't exactly look. . . *prepared* for company. . ."  
  
"Well what the hell were you doing flinging the portrait door open like that, anyways?" Joey snapped, sounding a bit exasperated.  
  
"I was . . . letting off some steam, I guess . . ." Remus muttered with a tone of resentment leaving a bitter taste in the air.  
  
"Oh no, Remus . . . What happened?" Joey asked sounding dreadfully worried. Remus' shoulders slumped even further forward as he shook his expressionless face.  
  
"She's pure evil," he said rather calmly.  
  
"Oh, God . . . what did Catrina do?" Joey asked apprehensively.  
  
"But . . . how did you . . . how did you know *she* had detention too?" he asked confusedly.  
  
"It's a long story. How about you just tell us what happened with Laura first," she suggested.  
  
"Don't you mean what *didn't* happen?" he asked sadly as he plopped down onto the softly cushioned red chair next to the couch Joey and Sirius were occupying. Sirius leaned over and patted Remus on the shoulder in what was meant to be a comforting way.  
  
"What about the hair and clothes? Did they do nothing to get her attention?" he asked, sounding a bit shocked at the *preposterous* idea that his apparel could have gone unnoticed. Remus smiled slightly at Sirius' blatancy.  
  
"No, no . . ." Remus said quietly with a tone of amusement. "She couldn't take her eyes off of me for most of the night. We were exchanging secretive looks around McShailty's back nearly the entire time . . . but then . . ." he trailed off as his eyes got depressed again.  
  
"Moony! For Gods sake!!! Just tell us what happened!!" Sirius finally bit out. Joey elbowed him in the ribs at his uncouthness, but then turned her head to Remus expectantly. The blue-eyed boy gave a slight wince at his best friend's command, but then conceded and began filling them in on what had happened.  
  
"Well, the moment I got to McShailty's room, Laura was waiting outside of it. I was a bit surprised to see her, considering I was a bit early and figured that I was probably the only person in the school who goes early to a detention with McShailty. So we started talking for the few minutes before the detention started, and she said I looked nice and that it was good to see me again . . ." Remus paused for a moment as a slight hint of blushed tinted his cheeks.  
  
"Yeah . . . and then what happened?" Joey asked eagerly.  
  
"Well, she leaned in a kissed me lightly on the cheek, turned around and headed into the potions classroom along with a few other students who were there for detention too," Remus said matter-of-factly. When they heard this, Joey squealed and Sirius gave Remus another encouraging pat on the arm. But Remus was clearly not finished with his story, considering he barely even cracked a smile at his friends' excitement.  
  
"Then what happened, mate?" Sirius asked hesitantly. Remus shrugged impassively and his manner immediately drained the excitement from his friends' faces.  
  
"Well . . . the beginning half of detention went fine. We were exchanging glances and smiles from across the room like I told you earlier that we were, and everything was going exactly how I wanted it to. I thought I would have had a date by the end of the detention . . . had the following event not occurred." Remus exchanged glances with Joey, and he could see the upset in her eyes.  
  
"Catrina walked in the door?" Joey made the wild guess. Remus nodded.  
  
"She ruined everything, Joey!" Remus said in frustration. "You guys don't even know . . ." he sighed noisily and leaned his head up against the back of his chair and pinched his eyes closed. "Laura will *never* even look at me the same again!" he groaned up at the ceiling.  
  
"Remus," Joey said seriously, "what happened once Catrina joined your detention?" the dirty blond-haired boy pulled his head up from the back of the chair and grudgingly opened his eyes to meet the gaze of his friends.  
  
"Guess who our lovely little Malibu Barbie went and sat by!" Remus said with a falsely cheerful tone that left his friends uneasy.  
  
"Oh, no," Joey said more to herself than aloud. "That bitch," she mouthed. Sirius was doing his best to give Remus a supportive expression, but the pathetic sulk that his werewolf friend was bearing was too pitiful to really look at.  
  
"What did she do?" Sirius asked, trying his best to not seem meddlesome.  
  
"Well . . . when I realized that she went over and sat next to Laura, I tried my best to keep our gazes and smiles to a minimum to not draw attention to an obvious target for Catrina's blackmail." Remus took a wavering breath before continuing. "But I didn't want to push Laura away, so when she would smile at me, I would try to discretely return it. . . Only it was to no prevail . . . Catrina finally figured out what was going on . . ." before he could trail off into one of his mournful pouts again, Joey pushed him on in his narrative.  
  
"Yeah? . . . what did she *do* Remus? Did she say anything? . . . to Laura, I mean," Joey asked anxiously. Remus' shoulders drooped, if at all possible, even *further* forward. He gave a nod and slightly grimaced as he continued on with the disheartening story.  
  
"Laura was smiling sweetly at me with her beautiful white teeth and bright green eyes . . ." he sighed at the memory. Sirius and Joey were practically at the edge of their seats as Remus stared on into the blazing fire for a moment longer. "But then . . . Catrina caught my eye as she leaned over and said something to Laura. Laura broke her eye contact with me for a moment and began talking to that sneaky, little Slytherin-wannabe. They began whispering and nodding quietly to each other, completely to the ignorance of McShailty."  
  
"Oh, no . . . Do you even know what they were talking about?" Sirius questioned. Remus shrugged.  
  
"At first I didn't think it was anything serious . . . though I knew in the back of my mind that Catrina had some shocking secret of mine to tell Laura, I think I was secretly hoping that she was just bluffing and wouldn't actually tell my dream girl about it . . . you know?" Sirius and Joey just nodded sympathetically. They didn't know what else to do in the situation.  
  
"I'm guessing, then, that she wasn't just bluffing?" Joey inferred. Remus shook his head.  
  
"I wish she had been. Like I said, at *first* it seemed like an innocent conversation. But then they both started making random glances and nods in my direction and I suddenly became very aware of the fact that I was the center of their little convo."  
  
"But what about Moony? Did she let on about Moony at all?" Sirius pressed on, worriedly.  
  
"*That,* my friend, was the climax of the evening." Remus said flatly. "In one swift movement, Catrina leaned in, whispered something into Laura's ear . . ."  
  
" . . . and WHAT?!" Sirius and Joey chorused together.  
  
"A 'gasp' . . . that's what. One ear splitting gasp that left the whole class looking over at the girl of my dreams." Remus ran a hand through his disheveled hair and heaved a sigh. "McShailty looked over at her and she made some random excuse about thinking she had seen a spider or something . . . but I knew better. Especially when Catrina looked over and flashed me a sickingly sweet smile that basically told me the exact reason why Laura had gasped."  
  
"And you're certain?" Sirius asked with a false sense of hope.  
  
"I'm more than certain she now knows . . . considering the fact that Laura refused to even look over at me the entire rest of detention. It was utterly pathetic. I even found myself trying to make a racquet just so she might look over in my general direction. All I got was this triumphant smirk from that bitch, Catrina!!!" Remus groaned out as he held his head in his hands. Both Sirius and Joey felt terribly sorry for their werewolf friend, and they weren't even sure how to comfort him at this point. Joey was the one who spoke first.  
  
"Oh, Remus . . ." she cooed out comfortingly. "It'll be alright. I'll talk to Laura the next time I see her and I'll figure out what's up."  
  
"Joey!" Remus cried out in protest. "I don't even think it's any use anymore! I mean . . . she didn't even spare me a glance after detention! At the time I was planning on talking to her after class . . . but when the class was over, she practically sprinted out of there! I didn't even have a chance to catch up to her. So instead, I came back here and found you guys in such a compromising situation . . . and needless to say, I wasn't exactly in the mood to deal with it." Sirius suddenly started going off in a fit of coughing that Joey was almost certain was in an effort to keep from laughing. She shot him a knowing look and brought her gaze back to Remus.  
  
"Remus, I'm still going to talk to her. Laura is a smart girl, and I'm sure I'll be able to figure out just exactly what it was that Catrina said to her. It'll be alright . . . maybe I'll give her a few days to think about it before I talk to her . . . just so she doesn't run away from me or something," Joey patted his hand in a reassuring manner.  
  
"But what about Catrina? Those Chesire cat smiles she was flashing me all through the rest of detention were not exactly 'comforting.'" Remus pointed out. Sirius finally stopped coughing and took the time to comment on this.  
  
"I say we take her down. That bitch seriously needs to get the shit beaten out of her. We could so corner her and then Joey could hold her down while we-"  
  
"Sirius! No!" Joey said sounding with a mixture of exasperation and amusement. "We can't do anything rash . . . we have to first figure out just what it was that Catrina told Laura, and then we have to decide just what we are going to do about it. We can't just lynch Catrina in the hallway and expect that to fix everything." Sirius nodded sheepishly as Remus tried to hide the smile that was beginning to play across his lips. It was just too funny to watch Sirius get scolded by Joey when he started getting ahead of himself.  
  
"So where is Catrina right now?" Sirius asked trying desperately to try and get himself out of the hot seat.  
  
"Well, her detention started later than the rest of ours. She had to stay a little after class to talk to McShailty about the tutoring or something . . . I'm not completely sure . . . but it did give me enough time to haul my ass over here and tell you guys what happened."  
  
"So she should be here any minute now?" Joey questioned. Remus nodded. "Well, then you guys better make sure to keep your composure and not provoke her to do anything else that could cause a problem. Just promise me you won't let her get under your skin-" Joey's words were swallowed up by the noise of the portrait door swinging open. Just in time.  
  
Catrina sauntered into the room and stopped in the entry way of the common room when she noticed who was sitting on the furniture in front of the fire. With an extremely arrogant smirk, she strolled over towards the trio and stopped just in front of them. Her eyes lingered on Sirius for a moment long enough to cause Joey to clench her hands into fists. Sirius glared at Catrina as she continued to check him out. After a few seconds of this, Catrina finally peeled her eyes away from Sirius, allowed them to cast a triumphant smirk over at Joey, and finally rested on Remus.  
  
"Hello, Lupin . . ." she drawled out over her cat like tongue. "It appears as though we'll be in the library tomorrow for our tutoring session . . . all *alone,*" she said slowly, making sure to enunciate the 'alone.' Her eyes blatantly flickered over at Sirius for a moment before continuing on. "I'll look forward to seeing you there . . . and I hope you'll look as sexy as you do tonight." She smiled mischievously as she turned to leave and allowed her gaze to wander over to Sirius again. ". . . love the hair," she purred out more towards Sirius than anybody else.  
  
"Keep walking . . ." Joey growled out sounding extremely threateningly. Catrina shrugged slightly and began walking over towards the stairs of the girls' dormitories, swaying her hips as she did so. Joey looked over at the two boys who were now fuming with anger, and she silently mouthed the words 'keep your composure' over at them. Both boys remained silent as the three waited for Catrina to finally make it over to the stair case and relieve them of her presence. But before she did, she stopped in her tracks and turned around to look over at Remus again.  
  
"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, Lupin . . ." she scoffed out dreamily. "Your Ravenclaw *girlfriend* wasn't too thrilled to hear about you little monthly 'transformations'" she practically sang out in an extremely counterfeit tone of voice. "I wonder who else would find that bit of information as terrifying as she did . . ." Catrina began laughing to herself and shrugged before turning back around to head up the stairs.  
  
Both Sirius and Remus were thinking the same thing: 'she is so going to pay for that' . . . Only, while they were expecting Joey to butt in and tell them to 'keep their composure,' both of them were beyond surprised when she was the one to jump out of her seat first. Both boys were so shocked in fact, that they weren't even thinking clearly enough to stand up as well.  
  
Joey, who was now paying absolutely no attention to her lack of backup, heaved an enormous sigh and called across the room. "Strumpet!" Catrina stopped in her motion to mount the first step of the staircase. She turned around haughtily and shot Joey a look to kill.  
  
"What do *you* want?" Catrina spat out. "I thought I told you t-"  
  
"Don't EVER threaten my friends again . . ." Joey bit out angrily. "Do you hear me?"  
  
"Why? What are you going to do about it? You think you're all great because you're smarter than me? Or is it because you can smack a bludger better than me? You don't *scare* me, Joe . . . I'd seriously like to see you take your best shot."  
  
"I think you already saw me take a shot at you last night, Strumpet . . . and you didn't seem so eager then to eat my fist a second time." Joey shot back. "What's with the invitation now? Didn't get enough?" Catrina was seriously glaring daggers at Joey from across the room, and this was exactly what she wanted . . . the more she got Catrina to provoke her, the easier it would be to pull off what she was about to do.  
  
"You think you're pretty big to talk to me like that, Joe?" Catrina spat back as Joey held a very blasé appearance. "If you think you're so great, then why don't you prove it? Go ahead! Take your best shot at me!" Catrina was clearly egging Joey on now, and it made her feel a bit uneasy. What the hell was she thinking? But then Joey stopped. Wait a minute. This was *Catrina* we're talking about here . . . the girl was too *stupid* to think, anyways! Joey smirked, whipped out her wand, and hollered the word she had been waiting to holler since the moment she had found out that Catrina was threatening one of her best friends.  
  
"OBLIVIATE!!!" Joey roared through the common room. There was a pausing moment as an explosion erupted from the end of Joey's wand and shot across the room at Catrina. When the blast hit her, she stumbled backwards a few paces into the wall behind her. Sirius and Remus, who were now shocked beyond words, simply gaped at Joey who was standing there, out of breath and still seething with anger.  
  
Joey strode across the room so that she was right in front of Catrina. Catrina, who now had on an extremely dazed expression was gazing straight ahead at Joey's face, that was now a few feet away from hers.  
  
Catrina just stared at her, almost like in a powerful trance. Joey furrowed her eyebrows in concentration as she tried to figure out what to do next. She hesitantly waved a hand in front of Catrina's eyes to see if she was at all with it, and when the girl continued to stare straight at her completely expressionless, Joey decided it was safe to experiment.  
  
"Remus is not a werewolf," Joey said flatly. "You have absolutely nothing on him and you never saw him out on the grounds that night. You don't know anybody from Ravenclaw named Laura, and you have absolutely NO interest in getting in the way of Remus' relationship with anyone of said qualities."  
  
Joey stared at Catrina for a moment in silence as she thought about what she had said. She paused for a moment thinking about how to get Catrina back to normal, when an idea struck her. She lifted her right hand up so that it was right in front of Catrina's face, then snapped her fingers together really loudly, causing the dazed girl in front of her to jump about a foot in the air.  
  
It took a split second for Catrina to suddenly shake off the confused feeling in her head, and she looked around the room when her eyes met with Joey's which were right in front of her.  
  
"What the hell just happened?" she demanded. Joey was a bit taken aback by the question, but she felt relieved none the less that Catrina didn't seem to be permanently damaged by the spell. However, the good feeling didn't last, because before she knew it, Catrina had shoved past her and was making her way up towards the girls dormitories for what was the second time that evening.  
  
"Wait!" Joey exclaimed. She winced at her own voice when it came out sounding so desperate. But she couldn't let Catrina get away that easy! "Have you talked to Laura lately? You know . . . that girl from Ravenclaw?" Joey tried to ask as nonchalantly as possible. It was a pathetic way to test the effects of her memory charm, but it was still a way, and that was good enough for her!  
  
"Laura? Who?" Catrina snapped back, sounding as bitchy as ever. "I'm sorry to inform you, *Joe,* that I might not be as *popular* as you, hence not knowing every single person at this school. Afterall, I did just move here not too long ago." She continued to talk in her mock tone of friendliness. "I *do*, however, know that it is not worth my time to be fraternizing with some brain-dead Ravenclaw." She drawled out frigidly. Expecting Joey to flip out or something, Catrina was shocked to say the least when her enemy simply smiled back at her.  
  
"Good night, Catrina," Joey said as sweetly as possible. "And I trust you don't have anything to say to Remus?" she asked, trying desperately to make it sound like an innocent little afterthought.  
  
"Uhhhh . . . why would I want to talk with your freaky little friends?" she snapped. "Tell him he better be in the library at seven o'clock sharp tomorrow. I swear, if I have to wait for him for even a second . . . I'm going to-"  
  
"You're going to what?" Joey cut her off.  
  
". . . He'll be in so much trouble with McShailty, he won't even be able to see straight." She snapped awkwardly back. Joey rolled her eyes. The threat was so pathetic that she wasn't even going to comment on it.  
  
"Whatever, Strumpet. Just go to bed." Joey finally said, sounding completely exhausted. Catrina gave her a death glare, turned around and stomped noisily up the stairs. Joey stood in her spot and listened long enough to hear the stomping make its way all the way up to the six year girls' door, hear the door get wrenched open, and, of course, hear the door get slammed shut. Catrina was finally out of her hair.  
  
Joey exhaustedly turned around and made her way back over towards her two friends. Both boys were now standing up, and when she finally made her way across the room, she stopped just short in front of them. Remus stared at her for a moment before throwing his arms around her in an enthusiastic hug.  
  
"That was the sweetest, most . . . *hypocritical* thing anyone has ever done for me," he laughed.  
  
"Hypocritical?!" Joey spat out.  
  
"Yes, hypocritical!" Remus laughed. "'no, boys . . .keep your composure . . . we need to keep our heads about this, boys,'" Remus squeaked out in his best impression of Joey that he could muster. Joey and Sirius just laughed.  
  
"What?" she asked defensively. "She *told* me to take my best shot . . . and that was it!!!"  
  
"Alright, Joey . . ." Sirius laughed. "But we'll just hope that you'll keep your head a bit better the next time she pisses you off!" he teased.  
  
"Well I'm not doing *that* spell again!" she said wryly. "I'm absolutely drained after all of that!"  
  
"Yeah . . . and to think," Remus chimed in, "you've got to go talk to Laura tomorrow, too!" he joked. Joey socked him playfully in the arm.  
  
"Now I think that's going to be your job," she said confidently. "I've gotten Cat out of your hair . . . now you've got to go patch things up with Laura."  
  
"Alright, alright," he conceded. "And you *really* think that Catrina is out of my hair for good now?" he asked uneasily.  
  
"Well, Dr. Jekyll . . . as long as you are a *little* more careful about frolicking around Hogwarts as Mr. Hyde . . . I'm pretty sure that she'll be out of your way."  
  
"Dr.- Who? Mr.- Who?" Remus asked with an extremely confused expression. Sirius was giving her an equally bizarre stare. Joey couldn't help but laugh.  
  
"Honestly! Are you guys *that* sheltered from Muggle life?!" she asked sounding a bit annoyed. The boys exchanged looks and Joey just shook her head. "Just keep your little lycanthropy issues to yourself, okay?" she said slowly, hoping that her words would register this time around. Remus nodded knowingly.  
  
"Yes, yes . . . of course! After all of that trouble . . . there's no way I would *not* be careful about checking for any mysterious cats out on the grounds!" Sirius nodded in agreement, and Joey was satisfied.  
  
"And as for Laura . . . I'm thinking you're just going to have to try and get her to accept you for the way you are," Joey said quietly. "There would be no use in putting a memory charm on her and having a relationship based on lies and deceit. She's a smart girl . . .I'm sure she can find a way to accept you for you."  
  
Remus nodded sadly and was grateful for the comforting pat on the back he received from Sirius. "I'll talk to her in a few days, I think. Maybe by then she'll stop avoiding me and be okay with just allowing me to explain myself."  
  
"I think that's a good idea," Joey said. "She's probably just a little freaked out right now." Both boys just nodded. "Well!" Joey said with a much lighter spirit. "Now that this has all been sorted out . . . I'm going to bed because I'm absolutely worn out!"  
  
"Alright, sweetie . . . I guess we should head off to bed as well, then," Sirius said as he leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. Both parties headed in opposite directions to the staircases of their respected dormitories. Sirius called over his shoulder one more time before Joey was out of sight. "Oh, Joey! . . . Good luck trying to go to sleep with James and Lily in there together! Have fun trying to pry them apart long enough to kick James out!" Joey narrowed her eyes at him from across the common room as she mounted the first step to the stairs. She could hear both boys across the room snickering under their breath. She simply smiled to herself and called back.  
  
"Oh, don't worry, boys . . . you can expect to see James over at your dormitory in a few minutes. If he isn't, then you can expect to see a boot shoved up his ass in the morning when he comes down to breakfast!" she laughed. The noise of the boys' laughter increased, and both parties walked up to their dormitories in better moods than they had originally expected to be in.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A week passed by, and then the next one came and went too. Remus had yet to talk to Laura, as he felt that she was completely avoiding him. The usual places that he had always looked forward to passing by her in the hallways suddenly seemed so very devoid of her face. She was obviously going out of her way to avoid him, and it was only too depressing for him to even think about what he could have had with her if Catrina hadn't messed everything up so horribly.  
  
But everyone was still trekking on, and if you couldn't keep up, you got left behind. All the days just seemed to smoosh into one big blur and people began loosing track of the time as school started to become more challenging and sports teams began practicing harder and more often.  
  
Joey's quidditch equipment had finally come in the mail, and since she and Weald were finally on a friendly basis, practices were much more efficient and much more enjoyable. The only stitch along the way to the team's success was the fact that Catrina just decided to come to practice whenever she felt like it, often times making up lame excuses to avoid attending.  
  
Other than that though, the Gryffindor quidditch team was really beginning to click together as possibly the best lineup at Hogwarts, and everyone on the squad besides Catrina, was coming to each practice with a new fire to try harder and work more diligently than the practice before. At this rate, the six players [not including Cat] were certainly feeling ready for their first quidditch match against Hufflepuff when the Saturday of the game rolled around.  
  
The entire Gryffindor quidditch team, except for one certain Catrina Strumpet, was hovered around the breakfast table, doing anything but eating. Weald was the only one standing up, spouting off any last minute play ideas, James and Robert were making random suggestions to Weald about the plays, Nick was intently surveying the scrambled eggs on his plate, and Joseph seemed to be doing some weird chanting to himself as he sat there, spacing out towards nothing. They were all *way* too nervous to try and stomach any food, and Joey didn't think she would be able to eat anything either, considering she felt like her stomach was already full of psychotic butterflies.  
  
"Why aren't you guys eating?!" Weald practically bellowed at his team in a mixture of frustration and desperation. "You need to eat!!! I won't have *my* quidditch team out on the pitch with empty stomachs and slow reflexes! You need your strength!" When the team just stared up at him blankly, he started to get personal. "Come on Nick . . . those eggs won't eat themselves! Joey . . . come on, have some toast or something . . . James-"  
  
"Weald! How about YOU stuff *your* mouth with some food and leave us to decide for ourselves what we will and will not eat!" Robert finally spat out. Weald threw him one resentful glower and then sat down huffily.  
  
"I'm not hungry," he mumbled stubbornly as he crossed his arms over his chest and continued to pout. The rest of the team smirked to themselves and continued to go about their business. When the great hall's clock struck ten thirty, Weald stood up from his seat and looked down at the team in front of him.  
  
"Alright, team!" he said energetically. "Gather your things . . . I'll expect to meet you all down in the locker rooms in ten minutes! Don't be late!" he called over his shoulder as he walked away from the table, out towards the great hall's exit.  
  
The team wasted no time in getting out of their chairs and heading over to the locker rooms. It was a matter of moments before the Gryffindor quidditch team, fully clad in their scarlet robes, were gathered together in the locker room for one last pre-game pep talk.  
  
"Where the hell is Strumpet?!" Weald hollered out at the rather tense looking bunch of players in front of him. They all looked around and shrugged ignorantly.  
  
"She wasn't at breakfast, Weald," Nick said matter-of-factly. Weald nodded knowingly.  
  
"Yes . . . but I figured she wouldn't have the nerve to skip the first game of our season!!!" he growled.  
  
"It's alright, Captain," James said, "we've worked out all of our plays so that they work with only two chasers anyways!!! You honestly didn't expect her to actually *play* even if she did show up, do you?" Weald shrugged.  
  
"Good point, Potter . . ." he snarled out. "But I still think we'll be at a disadvantage with minus a body out on the field . . . even if the body seemed more like dead weight than anything else."  
  
"Well we can't worry about that right now, can we?!" Robert barked out. "We've got a match in five frickin' minutes, and we *are* going to play whether Catrina is here or not! Let's just go out there and show those Hufflepuff losers a thing or two about Gryffindor authority!!!" The entire team nodded and gave a few 'yeah!'s in support. Weald took that as a good sign to stick his hand out in the middle of their little cluster, and the rest of the team soon followed suit.  
  
"'Team' on three, guys . . ." Weald called out. "one . . . two . . . three- "  
  
"TEAM!!!" everyone chorused together.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
There was a cool crisp feeling in the air that morning, and everyone could sense the apprehension in the atmosphere as they took their positions around the center of the quidditch pitch along with the Hufflepuff team. It was easy to spot Amos Diggory out of the crowd of Hufflepuffs because, while he was dressed in the common yellowy-gold robes just like the rest of his team, no one even compared to how good he looked in them. His eyes flickered briefly over to Joey and then focused back onto Madam Hooch who was now standing in the middle of the ring of players.  
  
As madam Hooch scanned over the crowd of players surrounding her, she seemed to be making a few mental notes as to who was on the pitch and to the number of players.  
  
"We're missing one . . ." she said aloud to the cluster of competitors. "Captain Weald . . . explain to me why you are missing a chaser," she said as more of a command than as a question.  
  
"Uhhh . . . well, one of my players has failed to show up today," he said awkwardly. Madam Hooch looked at him incredulously.  
  
"Because of sickness? Why didn't you get a stand-by team to play? Do you realize that you forfeit this game if you don't get that extra player here before we start this game? I *suggest* that you send one of your players to go find your missing chaser, or this game will be over as of now. Do you understand me?" she forced out all of the questions so quickly, that it looked like Weald's head was spinning.  
  
"Alright . . ." was all he said before he turned to Joey and asked in a pleading voice, "Joe . . . could you *please* go check for Cat in the girls dormitories and anywhere else you can think of? I trust you could run up there faster than anyone else could . . ." Joey didn't need him to ask her twice. She threw him a quick nod and kicked off the ground on her broom stick as fast as she could, heading back up towards Hogwarts castle. Madam Hooch took the opportunity to throw Weald a disapproving glare as she told the teams to split apart and that Gryffindor was taking a penalty time-out.  
  
Joey found herself sprinting up the stone steps in the entrance hall in no time flat, and she skidded around a corner and up a few more flights of stairs up towards Gryffindor tower. Though the base of Gryffindor tower was on the seventh floor, Joey found herself skidding to a halt before she had even reached the fourth floor. Down the hall to her right, in a little nook in the wall, stood two figures that were unmistakably Catrina and some other random guy that Joey had presumed to be from Slytherin. Joey stormed over to them, and without even bothering to mutter a word to the couple, gripped the back of Catrina's shirt and hauled her off towards the staircase.  
  
The two stumbled along awkwardly, as it was difficult for Joey to continue dragging Catrina around while she continued to scream and yell all the cuss words known to man.  
  
"Would you shut up already?!" Joey shouted as she roughly let go of the back of Catrina's collar and pointed her wand in her face. Catrina stood very still, looking rather frightened at the long wand tip that was practically touching her nose. In one swift motion, Joey pointed her wand down at Catrina's stomach, muttered a few words under her breath, and watched the slut's skimpy clothing turn to the rich scarlet fabric of the Gryffindor quidditch robes. Catrina simply glared at Joey.  
  
"I *was* coming . . ." she mumbled defensively.  
  
"*You* almost made us forfeit the game . . . I suggest you save any of your little excuses for Weald *after* the game when he decides to skin you alive," Joey bit out caustically.  
  
"Whatever," Catrina grumbled as she followed Joey out the door onto the Hogwarts grounds. Joey shoved Catrina onto her broom and jumped on afterwards, speeding past the grounds towards the large stadium of the quidditch pitch.  
  
When they landed, Weald appeared so relieved to see them, he looked like he was about to kiss Joey. She smiled triumphantly at the crowd and shoved Catrina forward to get the broom Weald had collected for her from the locker room.  
  
"You guys ready to kick some Hufflepuff butt?" she laughed as the team hurried over back towards the center of the field.  
  
"Thanks, Joey," Weald said to her under his breath so that only she could hear. She smiled and nodded in response.  
  
"Let's play *our* game, then!" she said confidently as Madam Hooch called out her usual demand for a 'nice clean game.' Then the bludgers were released, the snitch, and then the quaffle was thrown high into the air to signify the start of the game.  
  
The beginning of the game started out pretty uneventful. The quaffle had been stolen about ten times and passed around the pitch for a while, when *finally* Nick stole it right in front of Amos [who was the Hufflepuff keeper] and chucked it swiftly around his left arm through the far goal ring. All of the people in the Gryffindor stands cheered wildly as the score was now 10-nill.  
  
It seemed like Nick and Joseph were working tirelessly to keep the quaffle from being stolen, but while Catrina seemed to just float around on her duff looking pretty the entire game, it was quite difficult for them with only two chasers against three. With this disadvantage, by the time they were a ways into the game, the score was tied at 40-40. Joey and Weald were doing an awesome job controlling the bludgers around any of their own teammates, and Joey had even successfully knocked the wind out of one of the Hufflepuff chasers as he passed her during a hit.  
  
The game seemed to be close, but still pretty clean as no one seemed to pull any cheap tricks or anything . . . but in one swift movement, that all changed. Nick had just passed the quaffle to Joseph, when Joseph was taking a break away to the Hufflepuff hoops. It took a split second for Joey to realize that Joseph was completely wide open except for the bludger that was barreling down towards him, right for his head. So she swooped down expertly, made a tight cut past Amos, knocked the bludger out of the way, and allowed Joseph to take his shot in the same instant. It all happened so quickly, that Joey didn't have enough time to react once Amos had side-swiped her after he caght the quaffle, nearly knocking her off her broom.  
  
Lucky for her, she had a tight grip on the handle of her broom, so when she flung forward, her body dangling downwards to the ground, she was still hanging on by her right hand. While all of the spectators gasped in horror, she still managed to keep her cool and sling her right leg over the seat, regaining her seat on the broom. She threw a nasty glare at Amos' challenging glower, and continued on towards the other side of the field while the game rolled on.  
  
It seemed like a century later, the score was at 50-70 hufflepuff's lead, when everyone suddenly became very aware of James Potter's scarlet figure barreling by on his Silverbullet 680. While no one could see the shiny gold snitch that the boy was clearly racing after, it was unmistakably the real thing when the Hufflepuff seeker started barreling after him in the same direction.  
  
It took a matter of seconds for everyone, including both teams and all of the spectators, to realize that both seekers were headed directly at none other than the Hufflepuff goal hoops. Amos Diggory was wearing a look of pure dismay as he just gaped at the two boys coming at ground breaking speeds right at him. In the heat of the moment, a sudden movement from a little distance away caught the corner of Joey's eye, and she quickly used her quidditch reflexes to take advantage of the situation.  
  
In one fluid motion, Joey sped over to the zooming bludger, caught the end of it with her bat, and sent it shooting through the sky towards Amos just as the snitch was nearing him. The bludger made one swift attack to the side of Diggory's unsuspecting body, and caused him to go rolling off into nowhere just as James' fingers closed around the snitch in the spot that Amos had occupied just moments before. The champion seeker then made a quick follow-through on his broom and swooped through and around the goal hoops back to his teammates' congratulatory arms on the ground.  
  
"Gryffindor's done it!!! They've won the match!" a voice rang out on the overhead speakers. The Gryffindor players were in a rather large clump on the ground in the center of the quidditch pitch. They were a giant mass of hugging and cheering, and they were too busy congratulating each other to pay any attention to the disappointed and rather sore Hufflepuffs [in Amos' case anyways] who were now heading into their locker rooms. James pulled Joey aside and wrapped her in a giant hug.  
  
"Nice hit, there, Joey!" he beamed down at her. "Wouldn't have had that snitch if you hadn't pulled off that quick-thinking move there at the end!"  
  
"Well, thanks, James!!! But you had an AWESOME catch right at the last minute there . . . what were you going? . . . like a hundred miles an hour or something on that broom?! That's some serious skill you've got there!" she admired.  
  
"HEY HEY!!!" Boomed out a voice behind them. "Let's hear it for the star athletes of this game's win!!!" Weald was glowing as he walked over and put his muscular arms around James' and Joey's shoulders. The entire team and the group of Gryffindors that was gathering around them all started cheering. "Awesome job today, guys . . . and EVERYONE!" he bellowed out ecstatically. "You all played fabulously . . ." everyone drew a bit silent as Catrina just stood off to the side, a scowl still plastered across her snotty features. She had done absolutely nothing but sit side-saddle on her broom the entire game. The awkward silence was beginning to get to the group, and Robert was smart enough to break it.  
  
"WELL LET'S GO PAR-TAY THEN!!!" he bellowed out, causing the entire mob of people to cheer loudly and head up to Hogwarts castle and, eventually, the Gryffindor tower. The entire Gryffindor quidditch team didn't even bother to change out of their quidditch robes as they headed up to the celebration that was sure to last all day.  
  
Joey was shoved along with the flow of the crowd as they all began marching off in the direction towards the castle. She almost let out a slight scream as someone came up behind her and put their arms around her waist in a huge bear hug.  
  
"Oh, Sirius!" she laughed. "You scared me for a minute there!"  
  
"Little jumpy, huh?!" he joked. She thumped him playfully on the stomach, and he wrapped and arm around her shoulders and brought her close to kiss her lightly on the forehead. "Awesome game, Joey!" he said enthusiastically. "I'm not sure what James would have done if you hadn't been there to slap Amos out of the way for him!" he said loudly and pointedly at a person to Joey's right. She soon realized that this person was James, and he laughed along with the couple as the recalled the look on Diggory's face as the bludger made contact with his rib cage.  
  
"Yeah, actually . . . I think that hit must have sent Diggory off to the Hospital wing for sure!" James laughed.  
  
"Well it's not like he didn't deserve it!" Joey said defensively. "After practically knocking me off my broom like that . . . he's lucky I didn't have an even better shot at that bludger!" All three of them laughed.  
  
When they had finally made their way up to the Gryffindor tower, and someone had miraculously conjured up enough food and butterbeer to feed the entire school twice over, Joey and Sirius caught up with James again and now found him standing with Lily and Peter. The two said their congratulations to Joey and everyone soon got off into their own little conversations about what their favorite parts of the match were.  
  
As Sirius got into a detailed description of Amos' face as the bludger hit him, impressions and all, both Joey and him were a bit surprised to see Remus tapping them on the shoulder with a gigantic smile on his face.  
  
"Tremendous performance out there Joey!" Remus praised. But Joey was in too much of a thrilled astonishment to respond. Remus had his arm wrapped around a very familiar-looking Ravenclaw girl.  
  
"Laura!!!" Joey practically screamed out. "It's so good to see you!!! Omigod! Are you- . . . what's going- . . . HOW ARE YOU?!" she said all in such a fast whirl of words that barely anyone could make out anything but the last question. Laura gave a slight laugh as she answered.  
  
"I'm doing great!" she said happily. "And it seems you are too! Judging by that show out there . . . Congratulations!!!" she raved as she gave Joey a hug. As Joey was hugging Laura, she gave Remus a gleeful smile and a thumbs up. Remus blushed slightly and just beamed back at her.  
  
"So what's up with you guys?" Sirius asked trying to seem as nonchalant as possible. Joey had to hide her laughter. The question was so obvious that it was pathetic. Remus shot Sirius a look before smiling cheerfully at Laura who was now looking at him. Laura was the one to answer, though.  
  
"Oh! . . . well we've been talking . . . and we've . . . *discussed* a few issues that ummm . . . we . . . errr . . ." she hesitated long enough for Remus to give her a comforting squeeze on the arm.  
  
"It's alright, Laura," he laughed. "They know about me," he said reassuringly.  
  
"Oh, I see," she said understandingly. Joey and Sirius just nodded at her. "So I guess I'm inside your guys' little 'circle' now, then?" she asked with a slight tone of amusement.  
  
"Yes . . . I'd say you are definitely inside the circle!" Joey laughed.  
  
"And don't worry!" Sirius chimed in. "Inside the circle is a good place to be!" Joey just rolled her eyes and laughed. Sirius looked over at her and cocked an eyebrow. "What? The circle *is* a good place to be!" Joey teasingly mumbled something that sounded a lot like 'weirdo,' then waved bye to Remus and Laura and headed back over towards the table of food; Sirius in close pursuit.  
  
Joey grabbed some food with Sirius, and they both walked over to sit on the couch away from the gigantic group of partying Gryffindors. Joey snuggled into Sirius' comfortable chest after taking a sip of her butterbeer.  
  
"Well today was a good day . . ." she said with a sigh.  
  
"Oh yeah?" Sirius asked thoughtfully as he began to rub Joey's back.  
  
"Yeah!" she said with a mild tone of enthusiasm. "First we find Catrina in the nick of time so we don't have to forfeit the quidditch match . . . then we *win* game . . . with Amos getting beaten up a bit . . . then everybody's happy and celebrating . . . and now I couldn't be happier as I'm curled up on a comfortable couch with my absolutely favorite person," she said happily. "What more could a girl ask for?"  
  
"Not much!" he said with a laugh. " . . . not much" Joey just smiled sweetly as she leaned back and kissed him heavily on his adorable lips.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! So sweet . . . *sigh* I just LOVE Sirius!!! Hehehe! Hope you guys liked this chapter . . . took me like three freakin' days to write it since school started . . . and volleyball's been crazy!!! But Please Review!!! I love each and every one of you who take the few seconds to type me up a little blurb about what you're feelin' when you finish reading this update. AND STAY TUNED!!! This chapter may seem like it ended in a sweet little spot . . . BUT THERE'S STILL MORE!!!! Bring on the winter break!!! YAY!!! WOO HOO! That's next chapter, and we're gonna meet all of Joey's *oh so lovable* family . . . so give me some time on that one!!! I'm in school now and I've got a volleyball tournament this weekend so I won't have like ANY time to write! *ARGGG* But please leave me a review . . . and maybe I'll feel extra motivated and try to write whenever I find a spare moment! LOL!  
  
THANX SO MUCH AND I LOVE YOU ALL!!! = ]  
  
-Sara (your one and only Sportzjunkie) 


	26. Home Again

AYO GANG!!! Whoa!!! Been a while, eh?! Can't tell you how much I've missed writing to y'all and hearing from you as well!!! School's been seriously driving me bonkers and I'm going mad w/ homework and exams. Volleyball has finally ended for me and I'm seriously grief-stricken about it. Basketball, however, has managed to swallow up any of the time I have to dwell on my past, not so demanding, schedule (if it is possible at all that it has gotten more demanding from its previous hellishness). Lucky me! *grimace* Well, it's Thanksgiving break right now and I'm finally getting back to what I love, which is writing to all of you!!!  
  
While in a hurry to make the deadline I made for myself for your guy's sake (*grin*) I didn't exactly have enough time to address each and every one of you (*frown*). But believe me, NONE OF YOUR WONDERFUL REVIEWS HAVE BEEN OVERLOOKED!!! You people are awesome, and I find it amazing that I have received 29 different reviews from you people since my last update. ( five of which were from Sakura. Lmao. Luv u gurl. So sorry this took so long! :-\ ) Can't quite tell you when the next chapter will be out . . . but I'll do my best to make this one good enough to last you at least for a little while. And I'm telling you . . . the harassing really does get my ass moving!!! Thanks so much for sticking by me guys!!! I love each and every one of you!!!  
  
-Sara (your one and only Sportzjunkie) If you have love in your life it can make up for a great many things you lack. If you don't have it, no matter what else there is, it's not enough. -unknown  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Joey! Hurry up and finish packing! We're going to completely miss breakfast!" Lily urged her best friend as she stood impatiently at the door of their dorm room. It was already the middle of December, and winter break was close enough to reach out and touch. School had just ended for the holidays the day before, and most of the Hogwarts students were rushing to get themselves ready for the trip back to Kings Cross train station later that day.  
  
"Alright . . . I'm coming . . . but if I forget anything, I'm blaming you," she said with a laugh as she stuffed another pair of socks into her trunk.  
  
"Well you can come up and finish packing after breakfast," she suggested. "Not like it matters anyways . . . Aren't you going home first, picking up all of your snow clothes, and *then* heading to your cabin in America?" Joey gave her a sheepish smile.  
  
"Good point," she mumbled as the girls headed out the door and down towards the Gryffindor common room.  
  
"So what're your complete plans for the holiday?" Lily asked Joey as they made their way down the stairs into the entry hall.  
  
"Well, as you already know, I'm going home first and Sirius is going to his own house, as well. He's going to get the stuff he needs from there and then meet back at my house. We'll probably stay there for a few days before traveling to Lake Tahoe, and we'll spend the rest of the holiday there in America," Joey said all at once with a confident nod at the end to conclude the thought.  
  
"So his parents won't care that he'll be away the entire holiday?" Lily asked with a tone of concern.  
  
Joey looked slightly gloomy as she shook her head and spoke. "Well, you know Sirius' parents. They don't really care if he even exists. My family loves him to death, though, so it'll be good for him to spend the holidays around a bunch of people who will really treat him the way he deserves."  
  
Lily nodded in agreement and the two girls entered the dining hall and quickly located their usual group.  
  
"HEY HEY! It's our favorite girls!" James exclaimed as the girls took their places beside them. The two greeted their friends warmly and quickly began acquiring their plates full of food.  
  
"Running a tad behind this morning?" Sirius inquired as he watched the girls try to wolf down some food before the dining hall was cleared out.  
  
"It was all her!!!" Lily declared adamantly through a mouthful of food, and she seemed to try and confirm her accusation by pointing a finger at the guilty brunette sitting across from her.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Joey laughed between mouthfuls. "But at least we didn't miss breakfast."  
  
"I think we would have if I didn't drag your butt away from packing one more of those ski jackets." Lily giggled to herself.  
  
"Ski jackets?" Sirius reiterated. "So muggles actually have outfits for this sort of sport?"  
  
"Yes they do," Joey said trying to hide the smile that was playing at her face from the sheer naivety of Sirius question. "Which reminds me . . ." Joey said more to herself than aloud, "We're gonna have to take you shopping."  
  
Sirius suddenly let out an audible groaning sound. "Shopping?" he repeated with a noticeable amount of dread dripping off his words.  
  
James let out a sarcastic gasp in mock of Sirius' reaction. "Not the 'S' word!" he laughed. Sirius gave him a playful kick under the table.  
  
"Oh shut up, Prongs!" Sirius growled. "You're not the one who's gonna have to go barreling down a hill dressed up in some puff-ball fur coat, plowing down a bunch of muggle kids, and surely on the way to your doom in the shape of a very wide tree."  
  
All of the friends at the table began cracking up with laughter as Sirius just sat there ranting on about how awkward the whole situation would be for him.  
  
"Why am I guessing that my little tirade isn't sparking the wanted sympathy that I deserve?" Sirius questioned humorously.  
  
Trying to wipe the tears out of his eyes, Remus looked over at Joey and said, "Just be sure to take a lot of pictures. It's a shame we won't be able to see Sirius in his moment of glory!"  
  
Joey nodded in agreement. "Oh don't worry, Moony. There will sure to be a lot of film involved with my Mum planning on joining us." Sirius let out another audible groan as his head dropped into his hands. His friends continued to laugh and Joey just gave him a comforting rub on the back.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It seemed like no time had passed before all of the Hogwarts students were filing onto the train at the Hogsmeade station. The friends took their usual cabin in the very back and managed to all squeeze together in the same cart. The group was fewer two people when Peter and Suzy decided that the compartment was too small for eight people. They wondered off muttering something about finding a compartment *alone.* Needless to say, the rest of the group had a unanimous vote to NOT discuss that situation any further . . . as it may have led to some nightmare-inducing thoughts.  
  
The group DID, however, decide to discuss everyone's plans for the holidays. When Lily was requested of the topic, she gladly informed the group of her arrangements.  
  
"Well I'm going home for the holidays. It'll be really good to see my family. . . well . . . maybe not Petunia OR her evil boyfriend Vernon . . . but it'll be really nice to see my parents." Joey could feel Sirius shift slightly next to her when the word *parents* was brought into the conversation. "And I'm pretty sure James will be coming to my house for new years," she finished as she looked over at the lovable guy she was addressing on her left.  
  
James gave her his usual jokester grin and answered her inquiry with his usual teasing tenor. "Oh I don't know, Lils . . . my parents may not approve of me hanging out with such a trouble maker like yourself. . . it might be bad for my reputation, you know."  
  
Lily's eyebrows shot up in what seemed to be an equally over-exaggerated expression. "Bad for *your* reputation, Mr. Prongs the marauder, well known as the worst trouble maker in the school, aside from your best friend and partner in crime, Mr. Pad foot?!" she said trying desperately to keep herself from laughing.  
  
"Oh, shut up," he cooed with his usual endearing tone in his voice, leaning in towards Lily.  
  
"No, you shut up," she giggled back.  
  
"No you shut up," he repeated again as his lips moved even closer towards Lily's.  
  
"How 'bout you both shut up!" Sirius interjected rather blatantly and good humouredly. Joey, Remus, and Laura each let out a snort of laughter. Sirius was always the one who had the nerve to say exactly what everyone else was thinking . . . and everyone else was *definitely* not in the mood to have to listen to the two love birds snogging for the rest of the trip.  
  
Needless to say, James halted his advancements on Lily and the two instead just sat there making little "cutsie" faces at each other. Joey couldn't help but giggle inwardly as she recognized the puckered-up, squinty-eyed face James was making at his girlfriend. Lily really was turning James into a pansy, and it was rather entertaining to watch.  
  
"So, Remus! Why don't you tell us what *your* plans for the vacation are!" Laura asked, trying to draw the attention away from the love-struck couple in the corner of the cabin.  
  
"Well I was hoping that we could kinda do what Lily and James were doing. You know . . . spend Christmas with our families and then maybe get together during new years," he suggested hopefully.  
  
"Yeah, that sounds like fun!" she agreed. "It'll be good to see my *parents* and *family* again." The two trigger words practically echoed around the cabin as Sirius shifted uncomfortably next to the window again. Joey could sense the tension, but she tried to slip her arm around his to make him feel better.  
  
"And I so want you to meet my parents too!" he exclaimed without even realizing the twinge of pain he was causing the silvery-eyed boy sitting across from him. "You'll love my mom," Remus began happily. "I wrote to her and told her about you. Both of my parents are really excited to see you!"  
  
It happened so fast that Remus and Laura didn't even realize what they had said even affected their friend. But never-the-less, Sirius' abrupt standing and departure from the cabin left them speechless, and his little muttering of 'being hungry' didn't exactly ease their confusion. Even Lily and James who were sitting by the exit of the cabin looked up from their little ogle-fest to see what was happening.  
  
Joey was left sitting on one side of the compartment now, quite alone, and quite without Sirius. It was an awkward position for her to be in, and the apprehension was quite perceivable on her face.  
  
"Okay . . ." Remus drawled out slowly. "I'm not quite sure what *that* was all about, but I'll go talk to him and try find out," he sighed as he began to stand up.  
  
"No, Remus," Joey said fixedly as she took to her feet. "I think I better go. I'm pretty sure I know what this is all about." Remus nodded at her and sat back down.  
  
"Do you think we should give him a second to cool down?" he suggested, a definite tone of concern for his good friend imbedded in his words.  
  
"Maybe you're right," Joey sighed as she took her seat again. "We'll give him enough time to at least make his way down the train before I go after him. I don't want to make him feel suffocated." Everyone else in the cabin agreed. They sat in silence for about a minute, but to everyone in the compartment, it felt more like an hour. The pained expression on Joey's face was making everyone not only feel really bad for what happened, but really uncomfortable as well. There was so much tension in the room, and it was really getting to all of the confused friends. James decided he couldn't handle the discomfited interval.  
  
"Well, you know . . ." James finally suggested, breaking the awkward silence, "he does walk fast. I bet he's already made it to the end of the train by now." Joey looked over at James and gave him a pleadingly thankful look.  
  
"You know, I bet you're right, James," Lily stated confidently, doing her best to back up her boyfriend, in a desperate effort make her best friend feel better. "I'm sure Sirius has had enough time to think about whatever it is he needs to. He'd be glad to have the company." Remus and Laura just nodded in agreement, not quite sure what else to do.  
  
A shy and thankful smile crept up the side of Joey's face. "Thanks guys," she practically whispered as she stood up and headed to leave the compartment. Flam, not wanting to be disturbed from his nap, swiftly flew off her shoulder and returned to the seat Joey had previously been occupying. It was such a relief that she could finally hunt down Sirius. As far as she was concerned, giving him all that time was more like giving him a head start than giving him time to cool down. Now she would have to go looking for him.  
  
Joey took a step out into the train's long passageway. She heaved a sigh as she glanced all the way down to the far end of the train. It was an awfully long corridor with an awfully large number of doors on both sides. Sirius could be in any of the cabins. Thinking it wisest to make her way towards the far end of the train which was the location of the bathrooms, storage cabins, and the beginning of the food-cart lady's route, Joey took a breath and began her search.  
  
Once she had reached the end of the train and came up along side of the food-cart lady, it took a matter of seconds for her to recognize the tall broad frame of the handsome brunette standing close by. Though Sirius wasn't facing her, Joey could have recognized his rich brown hair from the other side of the train. He hadn't seen her yet, and when he dropped a piece of the wrapper to his chocolate frog on the floor, Joey decided to have a little bit of fun with him.  
  
Just as he bent down to pick up the piece of litter, Joey snuck over right behind him. In one swift movement, she drew her finger along the base of his back, just above the waist-line of his pants and then skirted back around the corner of the train and out of sight. Feeling the close contact of someone's finger with the rim of his boxer shorts, Sirius practically snapped back up to a standing position and whirled around to see who his prodder was. When he could find no one behind him besides the fat old lady with the food-cart, who just so happened to be giving him a very stomach- turning, suggestive smirk, his eyes practically bulged out of his head before hastily making his way back towards the train's passage way. No way did he want to take a stroll down that alley.  
  
Watching all of this, Joey was laughing too hard to even care that Sirius was headed right for her hiding place. The big wet tears were rolling down her cheeks as he turned the corner and made his way out into the hallway. He wouldn't have seen her if it wasn't for the desperate whimpers, coming from around the corner, that caused him to turn around. Joey was practically keeled over in pain from the laughing spasms that had consumed her.  
  
When Sirius saw his girlfriend in her right state, his quick brain made the connection in an instant, and he turned around to glance at the suggestive food-cart lady, who was now giving him a shy smile and a wave. The woman reminded him of a Madam Pince from the library, and the uncannily similar resemblance to a vulture made him wonder if the two women were related. The humor of the situation got to him as well as he stepped around the corner to be next to Joey and out of the food-cart lady's sight. The broad grin remained on his face as he gingerly poked Joey in the side of the ribs.  
  
"Thought that was real funny, did ya?" he teased as she giggled and shied away from his prodding.  
  
"Yup," she managed to choke out as the image of the food-cart lady smirking at Sirius popped back into her mind and laughter took over again. "I really loved how the food cart lady came on to you. That seriously just made my day."  
  
Sirius grinned down at the shining jade-blue eyes in front of him, still wet from the tears that had wept out from the joyous laughter they had just lasted. "Must be my boyish good looks," he stated confidently. "Not to mention my charming smile," he continued as he flashed her a prize-worthy beam.  
  
"Well it's certainly good to see you smiling again," Joey said sounding a little more somber. "You're gonna have to tell me what happened back there in the cabin with the others."  
  
Sirius heaved a sigh and ran a hand through his now slightly disheveled hair. "I was hungry," he said casually, trying to hide the obvious lie.  
  
"Yeah. And that would explain why you bought chocolate," Joey said with gentle sarcasm. "Come on Sirius. Tell me why you were squirming every time someone began talking about their parents."  
  
Sirius' face scrunched up into what was obviously an uncomfortable grimace. He wouldn't look Joey in the eyes, and he instead focused his sight down the train passageway. Running another hand through his hair he barely glanced back at Joey before sighing and finally saying, "I think you already know why."  
  
Joey couldn't help but frown up at him in a look of concern. Sirius' upset was really getting to her and she wasn't quite sure what to say. So she wrapped him in a hug and whispered, "I'm really sorry things are the way they are. But, like I said earlier, Sirius, you're loved by a lot of people, and that's what counts."  
  
Sirius nodded at her to acknowledge the words of comfort. "It's just that I'm always alone on the holidays, you know?" he manage to say with a bit of difficulty. "It's going to be weird getting to spend Christmas with a family this year."  
  
Joey had to keep from allowing her jaw to drop open. She hadn't exactly realized the severity of the situation until then. Sirius' parents had always wanted him to come home for the holidays for the sole purpose of watching the house while they went off to parties. For the majority of the time, Sirius spent it alone, and for the rest of the time he was getting ignored as his parents did their best to avoid him even when they were home.  
  
"Well my family is beyond excited to have you, so I really hope you won't feel overwhelmed or anything like that," she laughed. "I know my mom can go a little crazy with all of this holiday cheer stuff." Sirius finally cracked another smile.  
  
"No way. I'm really hoping she does go all out. It'll really make the Christmas special getting to spend it with you and your family, Joey. . . especially if your mom does go Christmas crazy."  
  
"Actually . . . make that my *parents* who go Christmas crazy . . . not just my mom. You'll have to see it . . . it's almost pathetic," she laughed shaking her head affably.  
  
"I can't wait," he said with genuine cheerfulness.  
  
"Now are we ready to head back to our cabin?" she asked hopefully.  
  
Sirius smiled at her tone. She sounded like she was talking to a five-year- old, but he nodded anyways and headed around the corner, just laughing to himself.  
  
Joey followed him, but she could see him laughing inaudibly. It was more of the shoulder shake that gave him away. "What the heck is so funny?" she said rather exasperatedly. Sirius just shrugged a smiled at her.  
  
"Oh nothing . . ." he said with obvious amusement in his eyes. He was really trying to get a rise out of her and she was about to let him.  
  
"Excuse you, Mr. Padfoot, but are you laughing at me?"  
  
"Perhaps I-" he was cut off by the sound of a door being swung open a little ways down the train hallway. They both looked and saw about five Slytherin sixth-year boys step out into the passageway. Sirius gave Joey a worried glance. There was sure to be trouble if they didn't get somewhere quickly.  
  
Lucky for them, the Slytherins hadn't seen them yet, so when Joey grabbed Sirius by the arm and yanked him into one of the storage cabins with her, they were out of sight and unnoticed.  
  
"*Now* finish your thought," Joey whispered between giggles. The whole situation was rather ridiculous.  
  
"There's a trunk digging into my heel," Sirius whispered with obvious laughter in his voice. It was like Joey could hear his smile.  
  
"Well then move, you big baby!" she spat out in a low, teasing voice.  
  
"I can't . . . cause you're . . ." Sirius croaked out between stuggles and laughs, "and then there's this other bag thing . . . and then you're-"  
  
SMACK!!!  
  
The Slytherin sixth-years, just outside the storage cabin, stopped in their tracks. They glanced at one another and then back at the door of the storage cabin.  
  
"Did you here that, mate?" one of them asked uncertainly to another.  
  
"Yeah I did. What do you think that is?" the tall one inquired. Most of the boys shrugged and looked to the others for suggestions.  
  
"CAT, perhaps?" one in the back suggested.  
  
"That's a pretty big cat!" the first one said sardonically.  
  
"Well how was I supposed to know! It could be anything in there!"  
  
"Well someone needs to check!!!" the first one snapped at the one in the back.  
  
The tallest one crept up to the door and turned the knob slowly.  
  
Just on the other side of the door, Joey was now flat against it and Sirius was now in a compromising position pinning her to it.  
  
"Sirius, why am I guessing that this was all just an elaborate plan to get me pinned down," Joey said with artificial disdain.  
  
"What?! Never!" Sirius said rather exaggeratedly offended. He leaned his face in and just before his lips reached hers, whispered, "Well there was a trunk in my heel."  
  
"Mhmmm . . . sure there was," she murmured as he caught her lips rather fervently. Just as the kiss deepened and became more intense, the door knob just next to Joey's hip began to turn.  
  
In a frantic wave of panic, Joey felt Sirius shove her behind the door and out of sight just as he suddenly seemed to disappear in the darkness. She had no idea what was going on, but had complete faith that Sirius knew what to do. He *was* a marauder after all . . . those boys all knew had to think on their feet when about to be caught.  
  
The tall Slytherin boy crept forward as he pushed the door open a jar. It creaked mildly as he pushed it open further and peaked in. It was so dark in the storage cabin compared to the rest of the train that they could see barely into the compartment at all. Barely audible and then more prominent was this low rumbling noise coming from somewhere that wasn't quite evident.  
  
"Dude! Is that your stomach?" One of the Slytherins in the back asked the other next to him.  
  
"No, mate . . . I thought it was yours!" Then all five of the boys looked at each other anxiously and then back into the cabin just as an enormous black dog came into view. The massive canine did not look happy, to say the least. It was growling and spitting, and looked like it was ready to kill.  
  
The tallest boy let out a blood-curdling scream and slammed the door shut. All five boys went sprinting back to their train compartment, completely forgetting about the food-lady and her cart full of goodies.  
  
"Well that was effective!" Joey laughed.  
  
"Thought it would be," he said rather cockily as another smile played across his face in the darkness.  
  
"Me with my dog-like boyfriend," she sighed with a laugh as she turned to the door to exit.  
  
"And where, may I ask, do you think *you* are going?" he teased as he held the door shut with one hand and leaned in towards Joey.  
  
"Back to our cabin of course," she said matter-of-factly, knowing quite well how she was driving him crazy. Sirius let out a deliberately strident puppy-dog whimper. "Oh don't you dare try that with me," she laughed as she managed to pull the door open a jar and allow a little light to flood into the dark compartment. Sirius was now giving her large round puppy dog eyes. "Well this is so unfair," she said with a tone of artificial frustration. "What's a girl to do with a boyfriend who's half dog?"  
  
A low rumble of laughter echoed through Sirius chest as Joey planted a soft kiss on his bottom lip. She then whipped the door open when he was off his guard and went sprinting down to the other side of the train, Sirius in hot pursuit.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The rest of the train ride went by quite uneventfully, and before anyone knew it, the thunderous brakes of the Hogwarts express were pulling the train to a stop in the King's Cross Train Station.  
  
Most of the people in Joey's cabin were sound asleep, and even Sirius had drifted off on Joey's shoulder, Flam curled up in his lap, before the train reached its destination. This was all soon to change when Joey looked out the window and saw one of her favorite people waving back at her from the platform.  
  
"JOSH!!!" she squealed at the top of her lungs causing a great hullabaloo in the train compartment. Flam's eyes shot open, and the bird began squawking at the top of his little birdie lungs.  
  
"WHA- . . . What happened?! What?!!" Sirius jumped about a foot in the air to a standing position, and Remus and Laura sat up instantaneously. Lily's eyes snapped open, and it seemed like the only person in the cabin who remained asleep was James, who just buried his head into the cushion behind Lily's shoulder while mumbling something about wanting five more minutes.  
  
Everyone in the cabin who had been woken up was trying to catch their breath and make their sporadic heartbeats return back to normal. Sirius let out a huge sigh of relief that the train wasn't on fire, and he collapsed back into his seat that he had previously been occupying during his slumber. Resting a hand on Flam's back, he was doing his best to calm down his poor, speckled friend.  
  
"Would someone like to explain what the commotion's all about?" Remus asked sounding rather exasperated. Everyone in the compartment looked over at Joey who was still seated by the window, waving hysterically at someone standing out on the platform. She was completely oblivious to the uproar she had just caused her friends and pet.  
  
"Uhhhhhhh . . . Joey?" Lily asked uncertainly. "What's up?"  
  
Without even looking at her friends right state of shock they were still trying to get over, she stood up, grabbed her duffle bag and went running out of the compartment yelling, "We're here!!!"  
  
Her friends soon followed suit, and Joey found herself sprinting across the 9 ¾ platform into her brother, Josh's arms. She was sprinting so hard that her 6'4'' brother practically swept her off her feet as she collided with him.  
  
"Oh my God, is it good to see you!!!" she laughed as he spun her around.  
  
"You too, Joey . . . You too!" he said while beaming down at her. His dirty blonde hair was shining nicely in the setting sunlight. "Man!!! Have you gotten taller?! I swear I don't recognize you! You used to be hella shrimpy!"  
  
"Oh shut up!" she laughed. "And I've been packing on the muscle, too, with quidditch well underway.  
  
"Yeah, I heard about that! Congrats to the beater!" he said with a grin. "Guess I'm gonna have to be nicer to you then? You might beat the shit out of me if I bully you too much!"  
  
"Damn straight!" she laughed mimicking the offensive language. "Otherwise I might just get my bat out and hit you right in the-"  
  
"SIRIUS!!!" Josh interrupted her mid sentence, giving her a knowing grin as he did so. "Been a while, tough guy!!!"  
  
Sirius had just approached Joey and her brother, and the two boys were now exchanging a jovial "guy hug," where they awkwardly shook hands and kind of did a "half-embrace" that still looked manly.  
  
"I'll say it's been a while!" he responded genially. "How's life at the ministry goin' for ya?"  
  
"Pretty good, pretty good." Josh said with a nod. "It's also pretty good to be home for the holidays . . . take some time off all the work!"  
  
"Definitely," Both Joey and Sirius chorused together.  
  
"So you guys are . . ." Josh trailed off as his finger wagged between the two of them as if to ask if they were a couple or not.  
  
"Indeed we are," Joey said with a smile as Sirius snaked an arm around her waist.  
  
"So I assume you're treating her well?" Josh asked exaggeratedly serious while doing his best to suppress a grin.  
  
"I sure hope so!" Sirius laughed as he gave Joey half a hug. "Though, we may have to hide all the bruises on her arms. I can be a little forceful at times."  
  
"Yeah right, mate. If it's anyone we have to worry about, I'm guessing it's you. Joey sure can pack a punch." The three of them just laughed and Sirius planted a light kiss on the side of Joey's temple.  
  
"Well should we go get your stuff?" he suggested. The three walked over to where the baggage was being released, and just as the gang had grabbed all their stuff, a man in a black suit approached them and addressed Sirius.  
  
"Excuse me, Master Sirius," the man said formally. Sirius turned around to look at the person who spoke to him and his expression fell in an instant.  
  
"Oh no," he sighed. "Why don't my parents just let me apparate home?!!" he growled to himself.  
  
"As you know, sir, your family lives in a highly muggle populated area. The proposition for you to apparate would involve a great deal of work on your parents' part to make sure there would be no muggles around to see you," the man in the suit explained.  
  
"But they go to the trouble to send a limousine?!" The man in the suit simply shrugged and made an effort to take one of Sirius' bags. Sirius allowed him to take it and took the handle of his trunk.  
  
"The vehicle awaits you this way, Master Sirius," the man said as he headed off to the right of where they were standing.  
  
"Lars . . . how many times do I have to tell you to NOT call me that?" Sirius let out a sigh. Joey tried desperately to hide the grin that was building to the surface of her lightly freckled face. It was almost ridiculous to hear her boyfriend being called that.  
  
Quickly sobering herself, Joey put a hand on his arm. "Hey . . . hang in there," she whispered softly. "I doubt my parents care when you show up. We won't be leaving for Tahoe in at least a few days. So can I look forward to seeing you in like a day or two?"  
  
"Try like tomorrow," Sirius said flatly. "I doubt I can stand my parents for longer than a few hours. I'll grab my stuff and apparate over to your house tomorrow afternoon probably."  
  
"Well, if you want to try and get along with your parents for a little while, that's okay too, you know." A smile played up the side of Sirius' face. He leaned in so that his forehead was resting up against hers.  
  
"But how can I stay away from your sweet smile for longer than a day?" he whispered so that he *thought* only she could hear.  
  
"Smooth!" a deep voice interjected. The two looked over at Josh. "Oh, sorry!" he laughed uncomfortably.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It wasn't long before Joey and Josh were on the car ride home. Flam got comfortable in the back seat while they took the time to catch up with one another.  
  
"So I can see you and Sirius are getting along nicely," Josh said with obvious amusement in his voice. "We always knew you two would end up together." Joey just smiled and shook her head with amusement.  
  
"I'm assuming that by the word 'we' you mean everyone else in the family as well?"  
  
"Of course!" he said with a laugh. "Brian hasn't been able to shut up about how you guys are 'so meant for each other' and how *he's* known that since the two of you met back your first year." Joey just smiled to herself. Brian was definitely her favorite brother; but she would never let any of the others know, even if Brian was always telling everyone that.  
  
"Well what's happening with you, then?" she asked trying to pull the attention away from herself. "How is-"  
  
"Erin? She's doing quite well in fact," he stated proudly.  
  
"And how's that going? Are you guys still dating?" Joey asked curiously.  
  
"It's going quite well. And, no, we're not still dating." Joey gave him a skeptical look.  
  
"And explain to me, brother, how that works. You're doing quite well together, but you're not still dating?" Just as Joey asked this question a huge, radiant smile flashed over her brother's face.  
  
Joey remained with the puzzled look for a moment longer. When they stopped at a light, Josh turned to his sister and gave her an expectant look. "You don't mean . . ." Joey began. Her bother's eyebrows rose up on his forehead just as his sister trailed off. "Oh my God, Josh, Oh my God!!!" Joey flung out of her seat and threw her arms around her brother. "You mean I'm going to have a sister in-law?!!!" Josh just smiled against his sister's shoulder that was digging into his jaw from the tight hug.  
  
"Well I'm glad you're happy about it!" he laughed as he tried his best to keep her arms from cutting off the circulation to his head. Joey pulled out of the hug and just beamed at him.  
  
"Of course I'm happy about it. This is going to be the closest I will ever come to actually having a sister!" she exclaimed excitedly. ". . . and I'm happy for you, of course!" she added as an afterthought. Josh just gave her a sideways glance that showed his obvious amusement in what his sister seemed to find the best part about his proposal.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It was a matter of moments before they pulled the car up into the drive way of the Atramentous residence. Since Joey's father was a muggle, her family lived in a muggle neighborhood with no magical neighbors except for a little old couple who lived around the corner from them. Since Joey's father was a well respected surgeon in London, they lived in a rather wealthy part of the city. Needless to say, the entire neighborhood found Joey's family, particularly her mother, to be rather eccentric.  
  
In a blink of an eye, a small woman who was about in her early fifties came hurrying out of the house towards her tall slender, daughter. The mushroom bun on the top of the woman's head, delicately laced with grey hairs amongst brown, was bouncing around as the woman came scurrying over to wrap her daughter in a loving squeeze.  
  
"Mumma!!!" Joey called as the slightly plump lady held her daughter close. "Boy, is it good to see you!"  
  
"And it's good to see you too, sweet pea!!!" her mother cooed. "OH, let me look at you!" she sighed as she held her daughter out an arms length away from her. "Well it's no wonder you ended up with the cutest boy in the school! If even possible, you've gotten prettier since the last time I saw you!"  
  
"It hasn't been *that* long, mumma," Joey mumbled trying to hide the blush.  
  
"So how is Sirius doing, dear?" her mother inquired with an unmistakable twinkle in her eye.  
  
"He's doing fine," Joey said, smiling awkwardly at the look her mother was giving her. "Well you'll be able to ask him yourself around tomorrow afternoon."  
  
"Ooooooh! I just can't wait!" her mothered cried with merriment. She then walked over to the car and opened the door to the back seat. "You weren't gonna forget mommies little baby, now were you?" Joey's mother fussed out over Flam as he flew out of the car and landed on the top of her head. "Now let's go get you some treats!"  
  
"Mumma . . ." Joey growled out with a tone of warning. "Not so many this time . . . I swear Flam gained like five pounds over just last summer alone!"  
  
"Oh, hush," her mother protested. "He's a growing bird!"  
  
Joey rolled her eyes. "Yeah growing *sideways* maybe," she mumbled under her breath before following her mother into the house.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Joey's mother helped her to carry her things up to her room and to begin sorting through all of her stuff.  
  
"So where's the rest of the family?" Joey asked curiously.  
  
"Well your father had a kidney transplant this afternoon, so he won't be back until later. He's terribly sorry he couldn't be here to welcome you home though, sweet heart." Joey nodded in response. She was used to her father working all the time. It will be nice in few days when he will finally get to take a break and travel to the states with the whole family.  
  
"And what about Brian and Sam?" she inquired.  
  
"Well, Brian, as you know, is extremely busy with the order right now . . . particularly around the holidays when they're especially worried about any attacks. They still aren't sure who the leader of the group is, but rumors are flying that they are starting to call themselves 'deatheaters' . . . though, I'm not sure . . ." her mother trailed off with a genuine look of worry on her face. "I'm just glad that Brian is taking the time to spend the holidays with us. He works hard enough as it is and it'll be good for him to relax a little."  
  
There was a long pause in the room as the two women continued to fold clothes and allow what had been said to sink in. Joey finally managed to make eye contact with her mother, and when she was about to inquire about her other brother, her mother got to it before she had the chance.  
  
"I sent Sam to the store for some food for tonight," her mother said in a much more comfortable tone. "He should be back soon. I know he wanted to go with Josh to pick you up, but that just wasn't how the agenda worked out."  
  
"So how's work going for you, mum?" Joey asked on a change of subject.  
  
"Well, you know life at the ministry around the holidays . . . rather hectic and frustrating. I'm not sure if Josh told you much about how it is for him, but I know I've certainly been wanting to rip my hair out. Both of us have been too tired to even talk about it with each other. Specially now since he and Erin have been staying with us for the past week thanks to the holidays . . . we just get home and want to relax and forget about our stressful days. But your brother's and my last day was yesterday, so we've already have had a little taste of the relaxation yet to come." Joey smiled at her mother as she carefully tucked another sweater into her drawer.  
  
"So where is Erin now?"  
  
"Oh, her last day is tomorrow. She works at the ministry as well, but her department is a few floors above your brother and myself." Joey nodded.  
  
"So she will be here for dinner tonight, as well?"  
  
"Most definitely. But it won't be until tomorrow night that we will have the entire gang here for dinner, including your sweet heart, Sirius." The twinkle came back in Joey's mother's eyes and Joey couldn't help but to suppress the laughter that was aching to be released.  
  
All the sudden Joey heard the front door open and a few male voices echoing up the stairs into her room.  
  
"Well that sounds like Sam and your father!" he mother said happily. "I wonder what your father is doing home so soon."  
  
The two women rushed around the corner, down the stairs and over to the front door.  
  
"There she is! How's my Joey kangaroo?!" her father asked as her pushed a few strands of his flaxen blond hair out of his eyes.  
  
"Hey, papa," Joey giggled at the ridiculous nickname her father had called her since she was little. "What are you doing home so early?"  
  
"Well, Papa's surgery went quite well today. I managed to get one of the interns to help me with the initial cut and with the stitching at the end. I was quite impressed with his work . . . may turn out to be not a complete waste of my time after all."  
  
Joey smiled at her father's manner. She knew how he secretly loved to teach the interns new stuff. That's why everyone in the family would just roll their eyes every time he would complain about the number of interns he would get stuck with, even though he would purposely sign up for extra ones each year. Her father's nature was that he absolutely had a passion for teaching people things. Even as a five-year-old, Joey already had known how to stitch up a wound, perform CPR, and prescribe medicine for most common illnesses.  
  
"And how are you, Sam?" Joey asked cheerfully.  
  
"Quite well, actually," he answered happily, running a hand through his extremely disheveled blond hair, which closely resembled his father's. "My internship as a medi-wizard is going quite well, and thanks to dad's help, I've been able to do all of the old-school stuff as well as the magic- involved healing."  
  
"OLD school?!" Joey's father repeated incredulously. "I think not that it is old school."  
  
"Think what you will Pops, but *I* think it's old school." Joey just shook her head and laughed. The two generations of doctors in the family were certain to be butting heads the whole time about methods of doing things.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
As the night drew on, Erin finally showed up just before dinner was served, and the family sat down to the meal, missing just one person. In fact, even when the family was bidding each other good night, Brian still hadn't show up at the house.  
  
"Don't worry, dear," Joey's father was trying to relax his wife, "I'm sure our son is fine. The meeting probably just ran a tad late, is all." Mrs. Atramentous did not look comforted in the least. But, needless to say, she put on a happy face, bid everyone good night and headed off to bed with her husband.  
  
Joey sat up reading as the rest of the house went quiet and dark, and it wasn't even until around 12:30 that the front door finally creaked open, and the familiar footsteps of her brother's dragon hide boots came tip toeing into the entry way.  
  
Since Joey and her brother's room were connected by two doors leading into a shared bathroom, she waited for him to sneak up into his room before she strolled across the cold tile of the bathroom floor, into her brother's room.  
  
Brian had just pulled on his favorite pair of jammie pants as Joey snuck up behind him and kicked him rather sharply on the butt.  
  
"Ouch! What the-" Brian turned around with a look of annoyance on his face. When he realized who it was who had kicked him, however, his expression altered to pleasant surprise near immediately. "Joey! Damn it's good to see you, girl! How's my favorite sister?!!"  
  
Joey flung her arms around her 6'2'', extremely well fit brother. He wasn't as quite as tall as Josh, but he had about the equal amount of muscle mass, and all three of the boys in the Atramentous family had fairly defined bodies. It was Brian who had the dark brown hair like Joey's, and he kept it longer than the other boys, as well, allowing the chocolate locks to flow back and curl just at the nape of his neck.  
  
"So your meeting ran a little late, huh?" she questioned  
  
"Yeah, I'll say it did!" he laughed contemptuously. "I was about to ask someone if I missed the memo saying that we were all supposed to pack our sleeping bags and nap sacks since it seemed like people were planning on staying all through the night. It was then that the order leader told us we could go and that not much more could be done so early in the morning, anyways."  
  
"Well I'll get more out of you later," she said with a grin, "right now I'll give you some room to breathe so you can head off to sleep." Brian gave her an appreciative smile and let out a powerful yawn. "Thanks Joe," he said with a tone of genuine appreciation. ". . . sleep well."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It was the next afternoon when the door bell rang and Joey's entire family, excluding herself and Josh, practically went sprinting to the door. Joey's mom was the one who opened the door for Sirius, and she nearly yanked him into the congenial atmosphere of the Atramentous home once she realized it was him.  
  
"SIRIUS!!!" the entire family practically chorused together and began talking to him all at once as they all barely allowed him to take his time to get settled down. Sirius looked overwhelmed with joy to be around so many people who really wanted to appreciate his company.  
  
Joey's mom even had the nerve to cup his jaw with both of her bare hands, and scrunch his face up. "You are such a cutie!" she said rather confidently as she forced him to bend over so that she could plant a motherly kiss right on his forehead. "You've gotten even handsomer since the last time I saw you. Joey is an extremely lucky girl."  
  
Sirius was blushing a nice shape of pink right about now, and Joey couldn't help but giggle at her adorable boyfriend. She really was lucky to have a guy like him.  
  
"Sirius, my boy!!!" Joey's father bellowed happily. "Good to have you here, son! We're a lucky bunch of folks to have you join us for the holidays!!!"  
  
"Thank you so much for having me, Mr. and Mrs. Atramentous," Sirius said politely.  
  
"Oh, please," Joey's mother said in a slightly discomfited tone, "call us Betty and Paul. You know us too well to be calling us such formal names. And besides . . . ," she added as an after thought, "'Mrs. Atramentous makes me sound so ancient!" Sirius smiled at the woman's request and nodded in understanding.  
  
Sirius made sure to greet everyone of Joey's brothers, and it was especially Brian that he had the most to catch up with. The two boys and Joey climbed up to Brian's room and left his stuff on the floor. Brian was going to give his bed up to Sirius for the next couple of nights, and he and Sam were going to double up in the room down the hall. Joey found this quite pleasant. No doubt there would be a few midnight excursions to bother her boyfriend in the middle of the night.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
After Sirius had settled in somewhat, Joey decided to get some alone time with him by taking him to a muggle mall. She finally got to drive the convertible that her father bought for her and her brothers to share a few years ago. Sam was the one who used it the most to get back and forth from the internship at the wizard hospital a few miles away from their home. Joey rarely got to drive it, seeing how she was always at Hogwarts most of the year.  
  
Joey was happy now to say the least. She was driving an adorable car with a hot guy in the passenger seat, and they were on their way to go shopping for some fun ski clothes that Sirius was sure to despise, but look really good in. What more could she want?  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
YIKES!!! WAS THAT A BAD PLACE TO LEAVE OFF OR WHAT?!!! Winter break barely started . . . I know, I know. But I had to introduce Joey's family and tell you all a little bit about each of them. Besides . . . this chapter was getting rather lengthy considering the fact that all that really happened was the train ride home and the introduction of the family. But there's seriously some pretty fun parts still to come . . . Sirius shopping around a bunch of muggles, some midnight visits to his room *wink wink* (YES THIS IS STILL PG13 . . . DON'T EXPECT ANYTHING TO DRASTIC PPL!!! LMAO) and of course Sirius skiing and Christmas. We'll just have to see where the winter vacation leads us!!! I hope to update again ASAP! Keep harassing me ppl! And please be so kind as to leave a review!!! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!  
  
~Sara = ] 


	27. Surprise Guests and Midnight Rendezvous

Hey guys!  
  
*ducks quickly, narrowly avoiding all the garbage being thrown at her* I know! I know! And I'm so sorry!!! It's been like . . . over four months? =/  
  
Man . . . I am thoroughly disgusted with the fact that the last time I've updated was Thanksgiving break . . . *eyes bulge out* Damn . . . I have been sooooo busy I can't even BEGIN to tell you how crazy my schedule has been. Now that it is SPRING break, I finally strapped myself down in front of the computer and decided to make a little birthday present for myself (my big day is the 13th and I'll be 16 years old). LOL!  
  
And all I can say now is . . . *phew!* . . . got another one out and lord knows that summer is coming up and once again, I'll be able to pump out the chapters like no tomorrow and finally finish this hefty piece of work! Hehe! And it felt sooooooo righteous to be writing again! I can't tell you how nice it was to sit down at the computer and get reacquainted with the characters again. I gave Joey and Sirius each a huge hug and kiss and apologized for temporarily putting them on hold as school and sports decided to consume my ENTIRE life.  
  
And Most IMPORTANTLY: Thank you SO MUCH to every one of you who has stuck by and read and reviewed LoY for every 26 chapters that I have posted so far! And now that I'm on #27, I hope this chapter is still up to par and you enjoy it! R&R and I will love you forever! Thanks a bundle!  
  
-Sara  
  
You're the twinkle in my eye, the wind behind my sail, the laughter in my life, the apple of my eye. -Unknown  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Sirius, I swear if you don't roll that window up I'm going to make you sit in the back!" Joey said with a laugh as she shook her head at her impossible boyfriend. Sirius had the passenger window of Joey's convertible rolled down all the way and he was leaning so far forward that his head was practically sticking out of it. "You know, there really wasn't any point in putting the top up on the convertible if you were just going to make us freeze to death that way!"  
  
Sirius pulled away from the window and flashed Joey a cheesy smile. His hair was terribly windblown and the moisture in the frosty air had caused it to form a giant cowlick in the middle. Joey had to choke back a laugh as she was trying to show him she was serious about rolling the window up.  
  
"Sorry, Joey. It's just that I never get to sit up front, you know? . . . and especially not in a car like this," he added as an after thought while he rolled up the window. Joey knew that all of Sirius' car experiences involved him sitting in the back of a fancy vehicle with a chauffeur driving him wherever he needed to go.  
  
"Well, do you have to stick your head out the window like that? You remind me of a dog." Sirius let out an ironic bark of laughter as Joey flashed him a cheeky smile.  
  
"Perhaps like a big black dog with a shaggy coat?" he said teasingly. "Can't imagine what would give you that crazy idea!" Joey giggled.  
  
"No, actually I was thinking more like one of those blood hounds with the long ears and saggy faces," she said, failing miserably to hold the serious expression on her face. "You know the ones I'm talking about. . . they stick their head out the car window and their lips flap in the wind, drool flying all over the place?"  
  
Sirius made a face at her and acted like he was pouting. "Well I'm sorry I seem so repulsive to you."  
  
"Yup," Joey flashed a brassy grin at the animagus next to her as he smugly stuck his tongue out right back at her.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"For crying out loud, Sirius! Just try it on real fast!" Joey said impatiently. "This is like the tenth jacket that you've refused to even touch!"  
  
"Not true!" he said petulantly, refusing to take the black bulbousy thing that Joey held out to him. "I tried on that other blue one and it didn't fit me right!"  
  
"That's because it was about three sizes too small on you. And, besides that, I never even asked you to try that one on . . . it wasn't even a ski jacket!"  
  
"But the point is, that I tried it on," he said defiantly. Joey rolled her eyes at him.  
  
"I swear you're harder to shop for than Brian is!" Joey vented. Sirius gave her a sheepish smirk. She heaved a sigh and held the jacket out to him one more time, a pleading look across her delicate features. He looked down at the jacket distastefully and reluctantly took it out of her outstretched hand. Rather somberly, and careful to not mess up the clothes he already had on, Sirius slipped the coat over his well built shoulders and dropped his arms to his sides, waiting for Joey's inspection.  
  
"There, see?" she said matter-of-factly as she pulled him in front of a mirror that was stationed in the middle of the coat store. "Look how handsome you look. The black contrasts really well with your eyes and the lining in this jacket will keep you warm while the water-proof shell will keep you dry." Sirius continued to giver her a resentful look. "What's wrong now?" she asked.  
  
"It's puffy!" he whined. "I look like a burnt marshmallow!" Joey's annoyed expression deadpanned for a moment just before she burst out laughing. Sirius continued to stand there patiently, his eyebrows high up on his forehead, as Joey continued to express her amusement.  
  
It took Joey a moment to try and sober herself before she caught a hold of her breath and tried to speak. But when she looked into Sirius' face which still had a pathetically tortured expression on it, she was consumed with an entirely fresh batch of giggles.  
  
"Alright, already! Take it off!" she choked out exasperatedly. Sirius hastily pulled the jacket off and chucked it back onto the rack. He gave Joey a satisfied beam and allowed her to take his hand and lead him off towards a different store. "If you refuse to try out any jackets, then we'll go look at some ski pants."  
  
Sirius suppressed a groan as they wandered into yet another store. It wasn't long before Joey was holding pants up to him to get an idea of his size.  
  
"Well, at least you're an easy fit," she said thankfully. "Just like Brian, tall and skinny. It'll be no problem finding the right size."  
  
"You mean no one is going to measure me?" Sirius asked incredulously. Joey smirked.  
  
"No, this isn't like Madam Malkin's, where you have a tailor measure up your inseam and practically dress you, as well. Here, you have to pick out clothes and use a changing room to try 'em on."  
  
Sirius gave her one of those 'what the heck are you talking about' looks. Joey laughed at his expression, grabbed another pair of pants that might fit and led him by his hand towards the dressing rooms.  
  
Joey let out an annoyed sigh when there was no one in the dressing rooms to give them a stall. The only other person that she could see in the changing room was a fairly elderly woman who seemed to be waiting for her granddaughter in the partition she was standing next to. The woman was paying absolutely no attention to them and Joey found this rather comforting. However, she did lead Sirius down to the opposite side of the dressing room, clearly out of earshot. She didn't need the lady over- hearing her explaining to her boyfriend how to use a dressing room.  
  
When Joey found the best looking compartment she could, she simply stuffed the pairs of pants into Sirius' hands and pointed into the little room. "I want to see them on you before you say 'no'," she said with a serious, yet amused tone.  
  
Sirius took one look into the cubicle and gave a disgusted look. There were clothes strewn all across the floor and still hanging up on the hooks of the wall from the stall's previous occupants. The mirror on one side of the compartment was pretty scratched up, and the little box-like seat in the corner didn't look like it could support a pair of pants, let alone a person.  
  
"You have GOT to be kidding me," he said rather snottily. Joey heaved a sigh, and, suppressing her giggles yet again, entered the cubicle. She made a quick sweep of the area by taking all of the extra clothing and chucking it outside the door and to the side of the dressing room.  
  
"Okay, now go try that stuff on," she said rather hopefully. It sounded more like a command than a request.  
  
"You really want me to get undressed in this thing?" he asked hesitantly, making sure that Joey could sense the apprehension in his tone.  
  
"Sirius! That's it!" Joey said obdurately, grabbing him by the belt and yanking him with her into the dressing room, barely stopping to slam the door shut behind her.  
  
Sirius barely had time to let out a squeak before Joey shoved him back in the unstable-looking seat and began yanking his shoes off. "If you're going to be such a baby about trying these clothes on, them I'm just going to have to act like your mother and dress you for you."  
  
Sirius was too shocked to even express his amusement as Joey pulled him back to his feet and began undoing his belt. "Joey, are you seriou-" his inquiry was stopped short as Joey began undoing the buttons of his pants. He began laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. He was, of course, enjoying this immensely.  
  
"But you're not going to- OKAY, you ARE," he interrupted his own train of thoughts. Sirius let out a pathetic laugh as Joey pulled his pants down to his ankles in a flash, leaving him standing there in his boxers. He stepped out of his pants and Joey chucked him the first new pair of ski pants for him to try on.  
  
"You mean you're not going to put them on for me?" he asked with a tone that sounded like genuine disappointment. Joey didn't bother suppressing a smile as she stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
"You're enjoying this way too much," she said with a laugh.  
  
"Yeah. Well, you know, shopping suddenly seems like so much more fun when you have a pretty girl undressing you," he said thoughtfully.  
  
"I bet," she mumbled as Sirius began, disappointedly, to pull the water- proof pants up his athletic legs on his own. When he pulled the pants up as far as he wanted and began zipping them up, Joey soon realized she was going to have to intervene once again. "Sirius, there's no way you're going to be able to ski with your pants sagging that much."  
  
Sirius looked up at her from his efforts of zipping his pants and frowned. "There's no way I'm going to hike my pants up my butt," he said with a tone serious enough to crack a smile on his girl friend's face. Joey took a step forward and pried his hands away from the clasp on the pants that he was still having trouble closing.  
  
"I never said up your butt," she replied, trying to imitate the ridiculously serious tone of his voice. She gripped the sides of the waistband of his pants and pulled them up another inch or two before she began fixing the clasp for him.  
  
Sirius was trying desperately to keep the frown on his face from the fact that Joey had pulled his pants up, but the idea that she was now, once again, fiddling with the clasp of his pants, was making the situation rather giggle-inducing.  
  
"I think this zipper and clasp is broken. . . It doesn't seem to want to move any more," she said matter-of-factly. ". . . I guess you should just try on the next pair."  
  
"Well, that could work, except for the fact that I won't be able to get them off now because the zipper is stuck," Sirius said rather dryly. Truth be told, however, he really didn't mind having Joey sitting there trying to get it to work. Joey gave him a suspicious glare and went to toil to try and get the fastener to budge again.  
  
"What is with this zipper. . ." she grumbled to herself. Sparing Sirius half an apologetic glance, she had to make a double-take when she noticed the expression on his face.  
  
Sirius was now pressing his lips together so tightly to keep from laughing that they formed a thin line across his face. His eyes, however, were revealing the hilarity in his expression. Joey cocked an eyebrow at him and just shook her head.  
  
"You better wipe that smirk off you face," she said with a lightheartedly threatening tone. She was now having trouble keeping herself from laughing. The smile broke out on her boyfriend's face and she had to poke him in the stomach.  
  
"What?!" he asked, trying to a great extent to sound innocent. "YOU'RE the one who is playing with MY zipper. . . I'm completely guiltless here!"  
  
"Guiltless?" Joey let out a snort of sardonic laughter. "Who, my dear, are you trying to fool?" Sirius just stood there with a charming smile on his face, lighting up his eyes. Leaning in and standing up a bit on her tip toes, Joey planted a soft kiss on his bottom lip. When she began to lean back to pull out of the kiss, she soon realized that Sirius had already snaked his arms around her waist and was holding her to him.  
  
"Where do you think you're going, *my dear*?" he asked, being sure to emphasize on the repetition of Joey's very own words. Smiling brightly, Joey leaned in for another kiss, a deep growl of laughter resonating from her boyfriend's chest.  
  
"We're supposed to be trying to get you out of those pants," she whispered against his soft lips. Sirius' laughter grew louder and, quickly realizing what he was thinking, Joey just grinned and slowly shook her head at his suggestiveness. As he continued to plant several tender kisses on her mouth, Joey finally gave in and allowed him to deepen the kiss.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It was about half an hour later and Joey had finally convinced Sirius into getting one nice pair of black, slippery ski pants that seemed to fit him just right. He seemed to be in a much lighter mood now that they were finally making some progress in finding him some ski wear, not to mention the new use he found for the dressing rooms.  
  
Every time they made their way into a new store, Joey found herself having to be pulled along into every changing room to 'help dress' her boyfriend. She really didn't mind this at all, however, since it was actually getting Sirius to be a willing shopper, and she certainly got a nice view of his fit body. The scattered giggles and sweet kisses weren't bad either. She just had to draw the line at the point when he suggested that they start 'shopping for her.'  
  
Before they new it, it was a few hours later and they were practically done shopping for the day. They had even done some Christmas shopping for Joey's family, and Joey had managed to teach Sirius about muggle money, exchanging a good amount of his wizarding money with some of her own muggle money so that he, too, could buy her family some gifts. Deciding that they were now significantly hungry enough to take a lunch break, they began making their way over to the food court.  
  
"Joey, when am I going to get a chance to shop for you for Christmas?" Sirius asked curiously, giving her hand that he was holding a little squeeze. Joey smirked at his inquiry.  
  
"I still have to shop for you, too," she admitted with a laugh. "But I don't think it's such a good idea to split up in here and let you wander about on your own." Sirius grinned at the mental image.  
  
"Yeah, you're right. I'd probably end up getting lost in some baby clothing store." Joey chuckled softly. "And besides," he continued, "I think I'd rather get you something that's . . . non-muggle," he finished awkwardly.  
  
"I was thinking the same thing," she laughed. "Maybe we can make a trip to Diagon Alley tomorrow?" Sirius shrugged, pressing his lips together in contemplation.  
  
"I don't know if there is much to look for in Diagon Alley," he said thoughtfully.  
  
"Well, actually, there is a very nice wizarding mall in America. I'm fairly confident we could split up there, and, without getting too lost, be able to do some Christmas shopping successfully."  
  
Sirius grinned at her, "That sounds great!" he replied. He already had half a mind what he wanted to get her, but she didn't need to know that.  
  
Joey grinned back at him. Little did he know that she knew exactly what kind of gift she wanted to get him. She just hoped that he would like it.  
  
They got in line to buy some sandwiches and the conversation moved off onto a lighter subject of what else they needed to buy to complete their day of shopping.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
When they returned back to the Atramentous household late that afternoon, they had found only Sam and Brian home, the rest of the house vacant. Mr. and Mrs. Atramentous had gone out to do some more Christmas shopping in Diagon Alley, and Josh and Erin had gone out to spend a little time with each other alone.  
  
When Sirius and Joey found them, both boys were off doing their own thing in their own rooms. This didn't surprise Joey, since Sam and Brian were the two people in the Atramentous family that didn't seem to get along completely well. It wasn't that they loved each other any less than any of their other family members; it was simply the matter that they were complete opposites in almost every way, making them prone to arguing and bickering.  
  
As younger boys, Sam and Brian found themselves arguing constantly, never really letting the other alone. But as they grew older and more mature, the bickering began to die away to a rare occasion, and they resorted more to just conversing little and avoiding the other skillfully. As long as there was civility in the Atramentous home, Betty and Paul weren't particularly anal about having their boys be best buddies with each other . . . especially not between Sam and Brian.  
  
Brian, being the more serious, more loving, and quieter, brunette son of the Atramentous family, contrasted drastically with Sam who was blonde, constantly cheerful with everyone, and in possession of a dry, sarcastic humor. Sam's idea of fun was goofing around and acting crazy with a bunch of friends, and this did not suite well at all with Brian's constant need to be in control of the situation and understand everything that was going on and would be in the near future. This probably explained why Sam was working to be a medi-wizard and Brian was working with the order. It was the difference between Sam's love of working with people and Brian's love of being well informed on certain ways that he could help his people by fighting crime.  
  
Despite these differences, Joey loved both of them very much. She did, however find a much closer connection to Brian, for what reasons she wasn't completely sure. (Perhaps it was a brunette thing.)  
  
And minding that issue, Joey and Sirius didn't bother to think much of their detachment, and went about lounging in the family room. Sirius was quite mesmerized by muggle electronics, and he was keeping himself quite entertained by pressing as many buttons as he possibly could on the remote control, watching in amazement as the television screen changed channel after channel. After laughing for a good ten minutes about Sirius' new obsession, Joey eventually got bored and flipped open a book, while comfortably draping her feet over Sirius' lap.  
  
They were sitting like this for a good half hour before her parents returned home from their shopping spree.  
  
"Kids!" Mrs. Atramentous called as she entered the house through the door that led into the garage. Flam came flying from off her shoulder to join the couple in the family room. "Kids, we're back! How was your day?" There was a huge booming sound coming from the upstairs, and it was obvious that both boys from the second floor had immerged from their rooms, and were now bounding hazardously down the stairs.  
  
Suddenly, Mrs. Atramentous stopped dead in her tracks and began fiddling with all the packages in her arms, trying her best to hide what she had bought.  
  
"Hey, Mum!" Both boys chimed in unison looking rather interested in what she was carrying. "Here, let us help you with those . . ." It suddenly became very clear to Betty, Sirius, and Joey as to why both boys were so excited to see that their parents had returned home.  
  
"Oh, no you don't . . ." Mrs. Atramentous said sounding a bit accusatory. "It seriously disturbs me to think that even at 19 and 21, two of my sons have a horrible habit of snooping for Christmas presents." Both boys grinned at her rather guiltily and Sirius and Joey began laughing to themselves.  
  
"Why don't you two go and help you father carry in a few of Josh and Joey's gifts?" Betty finally suggested. "You can at least make yourselves useful now that you are downstairs."  
  
Both boys suppressed a groan and then proceeded out into the garage where they knew their father was unloading more packages from the car. When the door swung shut, Mrs. Atramentous started up the stairs mumbling to herself about how sad it was that it took four tries before she finally had a daughter. Sirius and Joey exchanged looks and laughed some more before they returned to what they were doing, Joey now idly stroking her soft owl.  
  
When Mr. Atramentous entered the family room a little while later, he was grinning broadly down at the couple sharing the couch together.  
  
"You guys will never guess who we ran into at Diagon Alley today," he began. He waited until he had both of their attentions before continuing. "Do you guys remember Mrs. Capman, the little old lady from down the street? When you two were younger, apparently you used to wander over there during the summers and harass her for cookies and other goodies . . ."  
  
Joey and Sirius smiled at the memory. "I would hardly call it harassment, father," Joey said matter-of-factly. "We would simply wander over there to greet her good morning, and if she just so happened to have had a few cookies on hand . . . well, she would just kindly offer them . . ." Sirius nodded in agreement, trying to keep the smile on his face as innocent as possible.  
  
"Mhmm . . ." Paul answered with his uncertain concurrence. "Yes, well, whatever the case may be, she seemed to have absolutely fallen in love with Sirius, judging by the way she rambled on about him. You never would have thought that you guys had practically made it a daily venture to wipe out her pantry each afternoon."  
  
"Well . . . you have to keep in mind that it wasn't just HER pantry, dad," Joey rationalized. "We did make the rounds about the neighborhood . . ." Paul and Sirius both let out a snort of sardonic laughter in unison.  
  
"Had to make it fair, you know," Sirius goaded on in mock seriousness, making the effort to tease his girlfriend. Joey scrunched up her nose at him and playfully poked him in the side with one of her feet that had been sitting on his lap.  
  
"Well, whatever the case may have been . . . Mrs. Capman seemed beyond ecstatic with the idea that you, Sirius, would be staying here with us for a few days. She even had half the mind to invite herself to dinner tonight." Sirius and Joey exchanged nearly horrified looks. Mrs. Capman's visit held the promise of big wet kisses that left the classic, 'bright right lipstick smudge' on a cheek in its wake.  
  
Sirius looked back at Mr. Atramentous and gave him a forced, yet obviously uncertain smile. "It'll be . . . good to see Mrs. Capman again," he said sounding almost in pain. Joey failed miserably to try and stifle her giggles. Paul gave her an obligatory disapproving glance before looking back at Sirius.  
  
"That's the spirit, my boy," he encouraged along with a hearty pat on the shoulder. "We'll all suffer together . . . just don't tell Betty I said that . . ." the trio broke up into laughter as Paul got up and left the room. Little did they realize at the time, however, that the evening's affair would turn out much bigger than they had planned.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It was around five thirty when the doorbell rang and Sirius, Joey, and her parents were all sitting in the kitchen at the time. Joey had left Flam in her room with his dinner, thinking it best that he not get in the middle of an old lady's need to pinch cheeks and offer big, red smooches.  
  
"That must be Mrs. Capman," Betty said confidently to the couple sitting at the table. "Would you get the door for us, dears?" Joey and Sirius exchanged a look but got up to answer the door, nonetheless.  
  
However, when they opened the door, instead of seeing Mrs. Capman standing there, it seemed like everyone in the neighborhood except Mrs. Capman was at the Atramentous' doorstep . . . (all the little old ladies in their neighborhood, at least.)  
  
"What the-?" shot out of Joey's mouth before she could stop herself. "Ummm . . . dad?" Joey called to her father from the foyer. Mr. Atramentous was standing beside his daughter in a flash, and the look on his face was quite inexplicably surprised.  
  
"Mrs. Johnson, Ms. Turnpike, Ms. Lintork, Mrs. Wilpser. . ." He stuttered. There had to have been at least 7. . . no, 8, old ladies on their doorstep . . . none of which was Mrs. Capman, mind you. "What are you all doing here?" he tried to ask as politely as possible.  
  
"Well," Ms. Turnpike began, the Jell-O salad resting in her arms jiggling slightly, "when Gladys Capman came home from Diagon Alley this afternoon bragging about how she was going over to the Atramentous' this evening to have supper with the family and SIRIUS BLACK . . . we all just decided that we wanted to come and say 'hi,' as well!" All the old ladies around her nodded in agreement. The next one to speak was Mrs. Wilpser, and as she did, she was trying to peak around Joey and her father to get a better view of Sirius who was now practically hiding in the background behind the two.  
  
"We all remember Sirius and what a cute and polite little gentleman he was . . ." the white-haired woman said, a slight blush easily detected on her heavily made-up face. "When we heard he was in town . . . we ALL just had to see what a handsome young man he had grown into."  
  
At this point, Joey was about to burst into fits of giggles. This was beyond obvious in her expression as her lips were squeezed together so tightly and her cheeks were practically bunched up into her eyes. In a desperate attempt to make the situation even more amusing, she backed-up to open the door wider, and, in effect, allowed Sirius to be standing in full view of the group of ladies.  
  
"Well, do please come in," was all Paul managed to get out before he was practically shoved out of the way by the heard of ladies. His pleas for them to calm down and not shove were completely lost in the commotion of cheek pinches, forceful hugs, and big, wet, and colorful kisses on the poor teenage boy who was lost somewhere in the mass of ladies.  
  
By the time the greeting was over, Sirius was exhausted, out of breath, and in possession of a forehead and two cheeks that had a greater array of colors on them than a box of fruit-loops. All of the ladies had finally pushed their way into the kitchen, along with all of their pots of Jell-O salad and baked goods. Mrs. Atramentous had welcomed them all graciously, yet in surprise.  
  
Shock and surprise certainly seemed to be the common emotion in the air at the Atramentous home. Joey, however, from the moment she clicked the door shut, could not, for whatever power she contained inside of her, stop laughing. Even when she thought she had gotten a hold of herself, when she took one look at the state of Sirius' face and hair, she just about died again.  
  
Not only was his face an assortment of all kinds of reds, pinks, and purples, but his hair, too, was so messed- up and sticking straight up that it was obvious that each woman had to have run her hands through those silky chocolate locks that Joey loved so much, as well.  
  
"You look so . . . so . . ." she managed to gasp out as her legs practically crumbled below her, weak from laughing so hard. Sirius took a few steps closer to her and helped her continue standing, his expression completely patient, but clearly not finding the situation humorous.  
  
"So . . .?" Sirius tried coaxing her to finish the statement. Joey finally managed to sober herself again and tried patting his hair down in the back where the ladies had messed it up the most.  
  
"So . . ." Joey was at a loss for words. The situation was utterly ridiculous. But before she could answer anyways, the doorbell rang again. Sirius' face was horror-struck as another load of old women appeared at the door step, smiling and waving at him before they all began filing into the foyer, past Joey, and towards the charming gentleman that looked as if he were their prey. He managed to give Joey a pathetically fleeting glance before the swarm of women passed over him.  
  
"My mother's in the kitchen!" Joey called over the loud gasping and 'goochie-goo'-ing, in an effort to coax the ladies out of the way. Lucky for them it worked, and they were once again left breathless and alone in the foyer.  
  
"Man! That last batch was worst than the first!" he griped pitifully. "I think I felt a couple of them grab my bum!" Joey burst out laughing and gave Sirius a loving hug.  
  
"But you really do look so adorable when your cheek is pinched," she offered.  
  
"Oh yeah?" he asked, "But you are going to have to specify which cheek are you referring to . . . because all four were certainly getting some pinching action." Joey broke down into giggles again.  
  
"I'm jealous!" she giggled. "Those are my cheeks! It's so sad that some old lady is getting more action than I am!"  
  
"Well I don't feel bad for you!" he said, now laughing rather blithely. "It wasn't YOUR bum getting pinched! Imagine how I feel!"  
  
"Well, I guess I'll just have to make it up to you later, then," she whispered in his ear. Sirius had to suppress the shiver that ran up his spine as Joey planted a soft kiss on his neck. She ran one of her hands up the back of his neck and into his disheveled hair, pulling his head down to meet her lips.  
  
The two remained kissing quietly in the vestibule when a familiar sound was heard distantly booming down the stairs. "Hey guys; What was all that noise that I heard befo-"  
  
The shriek that ensued from behind them was enough to break them apart, though.  
  
Brian's face was petrified as he gaped at the couple standing in front of him. "WHAT are you two DOING in here?!" he finally managed to sputter out in disgust.  
  
"Not exactly the brightest crayon in the box . . ." Joey growled out at the interruption that was her brother. Sirius lightly elbowed her in the ribs to be nice. "I'd say it was pretty obvious," she finally ended with.  
  
Brian was standing there looking shocked at his baby sister. Joey held back a smile as the idea of a 'loss of innocence' could easily describe this situation for her brother . . . a loss of her brother's innocence in realizing that she wasn't just his 'baby' sister anymore.  
  
"It was a fairly harmless kiss," Sirius tried to smooth over the situation. Brian's shocked gape at his sister suddenly changed direction and was now pointed at Sirius. To put it nicely, he looked a little short of civil.  
  
"I don't really care WHAT you guys do behind closed doors . . ." he started out, "but unless you are behind them . . . I really don't want to see or hear any of it. The tongues, the busy hands . . . the whole deal . . . it's just too . . . nauseating." Sirius choked on the spit in his mouth as he tried to swallow. Brian was making a right scene of things and it was cracking him up.  
  
Now that the couple was looking rather embarrassed, they could do nothing but nod along in agreement. Brian let out a satisfied 'harrumph' and stalked off into the kitchen. Joey looked over at Sirius and gave him an apologetic smirk.  
  
"Being the only girl in the family, let alone the 'baby sister,' has its disadvantages," she reasoned. Sirius smiled down at her and nodded knowingly.  
  
"So I've gathered," he replied as the two of them headed into the kitchen, as well.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Aside from the surprise visits and old-lady rampages, the night turned out to be a wonderful affair. The enormous dinner was a delicious feast, and there were more than a couple meals-worth of left-overs in the fridge. The entire neighborhood was back in their own homes by nine o'clock, and nine thirty found the Atramentous family, Erin and Sirius all squeezed into the comfortable family room, sipping coffee and tea as they were.  
  
"So I think we'll have to think twice before inviting Sirius to stay with us again," Mr. Atramentous teased. "Not if it means having to host a senior citizen banquet every time we do." The living room was alive with laughter.  
  
"I think what you MEAN is that you'll think twice before informing random old ladies on the street about who our house guests are," remarked Josh. The laughing grew louder and the agreeing nods were seen around the room. They eventually grew quiet and sat in silence for a few minutes, taking the opportunity to sit carefully out of their hot mugs.  
  
"You do have to admit, though . . ." Brian thought aloud. "Ms. Turnpike makes one hell-of-a good Jell-O salad." Joey chucked a cushion at her smart-ass brother and the laughing filled the room once again.  
  
Around a quarter to midnight, the whole lot that was lounging in the family room was yawning and looking rather sleepy. Betty suggested that Sirius go up and get ready for bed and that Joey would supply him linens and kindly his dress the bed for him in Brian's room. Joey nodded in consent, knowing full well that there was no way she would be making that bed for Sirius all by herself, whether he was her guest or not.  
  
By the time they were ready for bed and Flam was let outside for a night of hunting, they headed down the hall to grab some linen to dress his bed. Sirius was clad out in another pair of his cutsie boxers (these ones had doggie chew-bones all over them) and some old Gryffindor t-shirt that he had owned since 5th year, while Joey was wearing her favorite yellow PJ pants and a loose, v-necked grey shirt. Joey was a little disappointed in Sirius' decision to wear a shirt, but she didn't say anything since the idea of being half naked in an unfamiliar house, let alone an unfamiliar bed, would probably have been a been a bit uncomfortable for him.  
  
When they had finished tucking in the blankets and sheets, Joey folded them back nicely before standing up straight and smiling over at Sirius who was standing on the end of the bed looking at her rather interestedly.  
  
She was about ready to hop into the bed on her side when some one knocked on the door and entered before either could answer. Actually, that 'someone' turned out to be more like a group of a few people; Betty, Paul, and Brian consisting.  
  
"Just wanted to say goodnight and make sure everything was set," Betty said rather motherly.  
  
"Oh, yes, of course. Everything is just perfect, thank you," Sirius said politely.  
  
"Well, the house gets bitterly cold at night, so I brought you some extra blankets," she continued, smiling warmly as Sirius took the quilts and thanked her kindly. Silence ensued. Gathered around Sirius' room in their sleepwear, the small assembly of people was looking rather uncomfortable with not having anything else to say.  
  
"We just finished making the bed," Joey said rather needlessly. The three people standing in the doorway each gave her a look in unison that clearly stated 'thank you Captain Obvious.' Joey gave a curt nod and stood there rather awkwardly. She couldn't help notice the suspicious glare that Brian seemed to be flashing between her and her boyfriend.  
  
"Well good night, then!" Joey chimed in with a lack of anything else to say. She kissed her mother, father, and brother on the cheeks and then looked uneasily over at Sirius. Taking a few steps closer she gave him a rather discomfited and boxy hug, feeling the weight of her family's eyes on her back. She flashed them another forced smile and exited the room through the bathroom door that eventually led into her room.  
  
With Joey gone, Paul, Betty and Brian all bid Sirius good night and headed off towards their own rooms. Sirius couldn't help but laugh to himself at the thought that they intentionally said an extra goodnight to them just to see what the two of them were up to.  
  
He eventually turned off the lights and slid into bed. Staring up at the ceiling through the darkness, the memories of Brian's outrage at finding him and Joey kissing brought a smile to his face. It was kind of funny to think about it. Poor Joey and him would probably never get a moment alone with her having such a big family around 24/7. Sirius continued to stare up at the ceiling in Brian's room, willing sleep to come.  
  
Just as his eyes began to drift closed, he heard foot steps somewhere close by, outside his room. Though faint, Sirius' canine abilities perked up instantly and he found himself lying completely still, ears straining to hear better. That's when a door could be heard beginning to creak open. His eyes darted over towards the door that led out to the hallway, but he soon realized that that door was still.  
  
He laid there quietly for another moment before he heard a door creaking open once again. This time his eyes darted over towards the door leading into the bathroom and he could see a slim, shadowy figure slink over towards him in the darkness. A smile crept over his face and Joey could practically hear it in his tone as he spoke.  
  
"Now what do you think YOU'RE doing at this late hour in MY bedroom?" he asked with an obviously bantering tone.  
  
"Ummm . . ." Joey's sweet whisper rung out in the darkness, "I was . . . cold?" Sirius snorted with laughter.  
  
"No you weren't," he laughed as he held open the covers and she slid in next to him. When he put the covers down around her, she had buried her face underneath the comforter and out of view.  
  
"I could have been cold," she mumbled from somewhere under the blankets. Laughing, Sirius pulled the blankets up over his head as well so he and Joey were face to face in the pitch black. He could still see her alright as long as he held the covers up slightly. Being practically half dog had its advantages in being able to see rather well in the dark.  
  
"Yeah, sure," he continued to tease. "COULD have been cold . . . but WEREN'T." Joey tried poking him in the stomach the best she could, considering she couldn't really see at all in the darkness.  
  
"Well, why else do you think I came in here?" she asked trying to sound as sweet and innocent as possible. She could practically feel Sirius grin through the dark. "Certainly not to be with you," she said trying desperately to sound completely serious.  
  
"Awww . . . I feel so unloved," he whimpered in mock sadness.  
  
"You should," she whispered back, scooting in closer to him so that she was talking about three inches away from his lips. She could smell his minty breath from the toothpaste and it was practically drawing her closer. Sirius just shook his head.  
  
"Mhmm, sure," he mumbled sarcastically. "I know the real reason why you're in here." Joey cocked an eyebrow at him, unaware that he was able to see it perfectly well. This compelled him to smile and stifle a laugh. "I'm just too irresistible," he finally whispered, putting his hand lightly on her neck and leaning in to kiss her. Joey's eyes narrowed instinctively and she put a hand on his mouth, cogently avoiding his kiss.  
  
"That's what you think," she laughed back a little louder than she meant to. Two could play at this game, and he certainly was not going to get away that easily. "Are you implying that I'm hopelessly addicted to you?"  
  
Sirius felt thankful that Joey could not see him laughing silently in the darkness. Little did he remember that Joey still had a hand on his mouth and could feel him shaking slightly under her touch. Joey had to suppress a grin . . . this was going to be absolutely too easy.  
  
"Well if that's how you feel . . ." she started, pulling the covers down while sitting up and slinging her feet over the side to slide out of the bed. "I guess since it's ME who's addicted to YOU . . . YOU won't miss it much if I just return back to MY bed."  
  
Sirius' expression dropped instantly and he sat up a flash. But judging by the slowness with which Joey was getting off the bed, it became very clear to him that she was just messing with him. He smirked at her idea of teasing him . . . she really was quite good at flipping the switch from hot to cold in a matter of seconds.  
  
In one swift movement, he slipped his arm around her waist and yanked her over him and onto the other side of the bed. With her back flat against the bed and her head resting on the soft pillow, he lifted himself over her and smirked down at her knowingly.  
  
"I never said that I wasn't addicted to YOU." He whispered against her lips as he kissed her gently. Joey smiled widely and wrapped her arms around his neck making him lose his balance so she could pull him down on top of her. They laid like this for a little while, tongues roaming hungrily around the other's mouth. Soon, Sirius' lips began wandering down Joey's cheek and neck.  
  
"You taste like minty toothpaste," she whispered to him, giggling slightly and trying to catch her breath. A rumble of laughter resonated from deep in Sirius' chest.  
  
"You taste like . . .heaven," he mumbled against Joey's skin as his lips strayed along her collarbone before finally returning back to her seemingly idle lips.  
  
When Joey finally had him in a vulnerable spot, she was able to push him back against the bed so she could climb on top of him. He did this easily and willingly, pressing his eyes closed and trying in vain to steady his breath as she fervently kissed his neck and jawline. Between Joey's passionate kisses along his neck, and Sirius' rapidly rising temperature, his shirt was seeming like a rather bothersome restraint. Needless to say, it was hastily (and appreciatively) discarded on the floor.  
  
Her fingers slowly tracing the contours of his abdominal muscles, Sirius had to stifle an audible struggle for breath as her tongue drew slow, warm circles along his collar bone.  
  
"And just so you know . . ." she breathed out against his skin as her lips made their way back up his neck. "You really ARE just too irresistible." Sirius didn't bother to hold back the tremble running down his spine from the hot breath that felt like it was scorching his skin every place it touched. He just smirked, nodded in response, and continued focusing on steadying his breathing.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Joey, wake up!" Sirius called from where Joey assumed was the bathroom door. She groaned unenthusiastically and yanked the bed covers over her head, mumbling incoherently about wanting five more minutes.  
  
She heard Sirius take a step into the room again and felt something heavy land on her head. She grumbled childishly and picked her head up slightly, realizing he had thrown a big, dry towel at her head.  
  
"Come on, Sweetie, get up and shower! I'm already done!" he said rather urgently. "Your dad just told me that he's making breakfast and wants us downstairs in no more than 15 minutes so we can eat quickly and get all of our luggage together."  
  
Joey smiled sleepily at the idea of Sirius calling her 'sweetie.' This didn't mean, however, that she made any movement to get up. In fact, she didn't even bother opening her eyes. It was a long night and she still needed some more beauty sleep. She decided that if her father wanted her up he could march on up those stairs and personally haul her entire 140 pounds out of bed on his own.  
  
Just as Joey was making her decision to stay in bed, immaturely cooking up a number of half-baked excuses to do so, Sirius poked his head back in the room once more. "Your mom is on her way down the hallway!" he exclaimed. When Joey heard this, memories of last night's rendezvous hastily popped into her head and reminded her that she was not only NOT in her own room, but was, consequently, lying guiltily under the covers of her boyfriend's bed.  
  
Shooting out of bed fast enough to cause the room to spin around her, she winced slightly as her eyes refused to adjust to the daylight. Deciding that it was useless to bother trying to see, she just kept her eyes closed and tried to feel her way towards the bathroom door. She knew it was somewhere along the left side of the room . . . the set-up of Brian's bedroom was just the complete opposite of her room . . . how hard could it be to find her way?  
  
Before she got far, she heard some loud laughter coming from behind her. It was, of course, unmistakably Sirius'.  
  
"What?" she grumbled aloud, still clinging tightly to the towel in her arms, yet not bothering to open her eyes.  
  
"What on earth are you doing?" He asked cheerfully.  
  
"For your information," she practically snapped at him, "I'm trying to get my arse out of YOUR room and into the shower before my mom gets in here." Sirius just laughed louder, much to Joey's annoyance.  
  
"Joey, look where you are," he said rather assertively. Joey squinted one of her eyes open and peaked around in the direction she was feeling around towards. When her eye focused and she realized the wall she was looking at, her other eye popped open and she peered around dazedly.  
  
"How the hell did I get into MY room?" she roughly asked of the guy standing behind her. Joey's angry demeanor changed almost immediately when she noticed that Sirius was standing in the bathroom, combing his wet hair in nothing but a pair of blue jeans that were so dark they nearly looked black against his lightly tan skin.  
  
Sirius couldn't help but smirk at Joey's seemingly vulgar language. It was no doubt a simple side-affect from lack of sleep. Joey always had a profane mouth in the morning . . . Sirius thought it was one of her more adorable attributes.  
  
"I carried you in there this morning," he said with a laugh. "Your dad came knocking on my door and I had to hide you under the covers. Then he told me he still needed to wake you and your brothers up, so I took the opportunity to carry you into your room when he left to rouse Brian and Sam."  
  
Joey was now standing behind Sirius as he continued to comb his knotted hair out into smooth, yet still remarkably shaggy, locks. She leaned her forehead up against his bare back while hooking a few fingers into the butt pockets of his jeans. Her eyes drooped lazily before closing in exhaustion. "Thank you for not waking me up," she mumbled, trying to fight back the drowsiness in a losing battle.  
  
"Well, I did TRY to wake you up," he admitted with a hearty laugh. "Only, you were so sound asleep I practically thought I should check your pulse to make sure you were still alive." A smile cracked on Joey's face. "Then I had to make up some fib about your mom coming down the hallway about to see you in my bed. That certainly got you up in a flash." Joey's eyes narrowed and she glared at the boy smiling back at her through the bathroom mirror. "Well it was entertaining to watch you try to find a non-existent door on the opposite side of you room," he offered rather smarmily.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," she said wryly, giving Sirius a contemptuous poke in the butt. "Now get out so I can shower and we can eat."  
  
It was about 20 minutes later when they finally arrived in the kitchen downstairs. (Though Joey had claimed it was only 15 minutes since she was in denial that she was in the shower for longer than 10.) But aside from that, breakfast was still hot and ready, nonetheless, and still tasted just as delicious.  
  
After all the morning greetings, Joey and Sirius joined the family squeezed around the kitchen table, and started filling their plates up with food. It was just as Joey was pouring some orange juice for Sirius and herself that her mother addressed one of her brothers at the table.  
  
"I received a letter from the ministry this morning, Josh," Betty mentioned, sounding rather casual.  
  
Josh did his best to swallow half of what was in his mouth, and just tried speaking around the rest. "What about, Mum?" he managed to choke out.  
  
"Well, they were aware of our plans to vacation in the states this holiday, and had kindly informed your father and myself of a Christmas ball taking place in the home of one of our more influential associates from over there. They want us to go and make an appearance on part of Europe's Ministry of Magic."  
  
"Why do we have any associates from the states?" Josh asked, sounding rather confused.  
  
"Well, apparently they don't live continuously over there. They bought a house in the U.K. not long ago. In fact, they happen to live just outside of London for most of the year, and they've recently become one of the most significant correlates of the Ministry of Magic here in Europe and the one in America."  
  
No one at the table was really listening to Mrs. Atramentous except for Josh. He seemed to be very interested in what she was talking about, but the rest of the family continued to eagerly take mouthfuls of the food on their plates. Joey was idly sipping at her orange juice as her mother and brother continued conversing. Needless to say, she did NOT expect the conversation to turn the way it did.  
  
"So have we met this family before? Are they ever at the Ministry during the work week?" Josh asked skeptically.  
  
Betty took a sip of her tea and nodded as she swallowed the warm contents of her cup. "Well, yes . . . the father is at least. The mother is a professor at the Salem Witch Academy in America, so she lives at the boarding school for most of the days out of the year. But I believe, if my memory serves me correctly, that they have a daughter who goes to school at Hogwarts. She transferred from Salem not too long ago."  
  
The attention in the kitchen changed its way over to the only two Hogwarts students at the table. Joey and Sirius perked up in their seats, completely unaware of what the conversation was about or the direction it had turned. If they had only been paying attention, they would have realized where all the clues had pointed too.  
  
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Joey asked, trying to act like she had been listening the whole time.  
  
"We were just wondering if you knew of any transfer students who are going to Hogwarts right now." Betty recapped. Sirius and Joey both shrugged, not being able to think of anyone at the moment.  
  
"Do you know their last name, by chance?" Sirius inquired, now curious as to where this was leading. Joey continued to idly sip her orange juice as they waited for her mother to answer.  
  
"I think it was something like . . . Stupet or Struppet . . . something along those lines, perhaps," Betty trailed off rather carelessly, trying her best to get her aging mind to remember. The silence at the table was broken as Joey had clearly inhaled a good portion of her juice and was now coughing it all over the breakfast table. Betty gave her daughter a worried look. "Are you alright, sweetheart?" Mr. Atramentous absentmindedly began patting his daughter on the back, eyes not parting from the newspaper he had splayed in front of him.  
  
Finally managing to get a hold of her breathing again, Joey flashed Sirius a freaked-out look and turned back to her mother. "STRUMPET?" she practically spat out, trying to enunciate it as clearly as possible. She MUST not have heard her mother correctly before. Betty clasped her hands together as the memory dawned on her.  
  
"That's the one!" she said ecstatically, glad that the name finally came to her whether someone had had to assist her or not.  
  
"Omigod," Joey breathed out more to herself than aloud. She still managed to receive a load of confused glances from everyone at the table, save Sirius. He, too, was looking rather pale. Of all the chances in the world . . . who would have thought?  
  
Rather abruptly, Joey stood up from the table, muttered a few excuses, and grabbed Sirius by the collar before herding him out of the kitchen behind her . . . This situation called for some dire plans to be made.  
  
At the top of the stairs, she dropped his shirt and headed off into her room, mind buzzing, yet not filling Sirius in on anything.  
  
"Joey . . .?" Sirius asked hesitantly, following her into her room. "Joey! Tell me what the heck is up!"  
  
Joey was flipping open the suitcase that she had already started packing a few days earlier. Squishing down the already packed clothes as far as they would budge, she turned around and was at her closet door in a flash. Rummaging through its contents, she finally yanked out a familiar-looking ball gown and made her way back to the open suitcase.  
  
Sirius grabbed her and spun her around mid-rampage, and look her straight in the eyes, appearing as though he were trying to decide whether she had truly gone crazy or not.  
  
"Are you okay?!" he asked sounding genuinely worried. Joey seemed to have gotten shaken out of her weird reverie with this inquiry. She looked Sirius hard in the eye as she spoke.  
  
"Sirius, we're going to that ball." The handsome young man in front of her stared back at her blankly for a few moments before what she had said finally registered.  
  
"What- . . . why?" he managed to finally sputter out. Joey shook her head with a lack of anything to say. She didn't really have a reason, come to think of it.  
  
"I just . . . I have to go," she finally said. "I need to see her family . . . her home, her parents. I'm just . . . curious, I suppose. Maybe I'll find some answers as to why she's so . . . so . . . evil."  
  
Sirius considered his girlfriend for a moment. She certainly did have a point. But the concept that she had clearly used the word 'we' when expressing her need to attend that ball was certainly the real issue here. Not only was she NOT invited to this ball, but she was also dragging Sirius along as well, undoubtedly cooking up a plan that would get them both in a good amount of trouble in the end.  
  
"And I'm assuming you want me to go with you . . ." he stated more that asked. Joey nodded and her brow knitted together in consternation. Sirius heaved a sigh and gave her half a smile. "Alright," he conceded. "But I need some dress robes, mind you . . . and some nicer shoes as well."  
  
The grin that spread across Joey's face at that moment made the whole affair completely worth it to Sirius. She grabbed Sirius' hand, turned on her heels, and headed off towards Brian's room. Undoubtedly on her way to sneak some dress robes and shoes out of her brother's closet, Sirius thought to himself with a smirk.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
And then they'll finish packing and then they'll be in the states. *uncomfortable smile* I KnOw, I kNoW . . . I am certainly progressing through this story rather slowly . . . but you don't need to tell me this! I have enough voices in my head yelling at me about it already! ; }  
  
But I hope you liked this chapter nonetheless! The next one will come out . . . well, frankly, I don't really know. Just think, though . . . I get out of school June 16th . . . so if anything happens before then, well that's just gravy. LOL! Meantime, I will continue to die in honors chem. *cheesy grin* Okay, I know that was random, but it's by far my worst subject, and I really am dying in there. But I'd rather not think about that right now. =/ Since, as of right now, it's 1:36 on April 13th, so it's already been my birthday for an hour and thirty six minutes. *even bigger grin*  
  
And, of course, a specially gi-mungous thank you to:  
  
Kiwi (give up? Ha never! LMAO! Had me cracking up, but it's the truth! Thanks for the review!),  
  
singingvalentine (*cringe* . . . go ahead . . . throw something at me . . . that was a verrrrrry long wait, I know *sobs* But still . . . Thanks so much for the review!),  
  
Jenstarz (thanks so much for the review! You rock!),  
  
Snap (*wink wink* hope you're having fun in Disney Land on my BIRTHDAY),  
  
Greenfairie (Good to hear from you again! Thanks so much for the review! Means a bundle!)  
  
Casco (*wink wink* you better have gotten me something nice. LOL! JK.),  
  
Sakura (thanks for letting me know you were still around! Puts a mind at ease, and it's great to hear from you! Yes, school IS a major bitch . . . I can't even BEGIN to say . . . but we just have to hang on a little bit longer. *author tries to suppress a groan* . . . only, what is it?, like two months of school left? I don't know how it is for you, but I'm sure we can all just hang in there a little longer! Thanks so much for your continuous support! Means the world!),  
  
Queen Cari (I DID write some more! And some more . . . just took a little while! Lol!),  
  
Angel 76 (I wrote more, DAMN IT! LMFAO. Thanks for the review. It was inspiring whether your muse left you or not. =),  
  
Rrowan J. Weasley (all in one day? Yipes. Haha! And I made you wait this long time for the next one too . . .*hangs head in shame* But I hoped you liked it! ; ),  
  
Abby (Wow! *blush* Thanks so much!),  
  
Sirius' sweetie (lol, by the way . . . love the penname. Hehe! And thanks a bunch for the review!),  
  
fallenistari (LOL! Yes I do have a 22 year old brother and a handful of older male cousins. That's six years older than me, and YES at times I don't get along with him . . . but for the most part he's an awesome influence in my life and I'm glad to have him around. Hehe! And, as a side note, when you get older and you both mature, you start getting along MUCH better than you did as youngsters . . . I think you just appreciate each other more. I dunno. But I actually modeled the character Brian after my older brother. *blush* Just don't tell him I said so. ; ),  
  
Padfootess/ Emmah-Leah/ previous Marauder-luver-forever (hehe! So many names, can't keep up with you gurl! LOL! Thanks so much for the review! And, yes, I love Brian too! *see previous comment* And I hope you enjoyed Sirius at the mall. *sly grin* And Sirius on skis is STILL yet to come! Stick around!),  
  
soccerchic1989 (thanks so much for reviewing! I'm always pleased to hear from everyone! So glad you like it! And I'm so sorry this one took a while to come out! =) ,  
  
MarauderFan4ever (Yes, yes . . .but our Sirius in ski clothes has YET to make it to the big scene . . . that's what next chapter's for, for sure! Thanks so much for reviewing!),  
  
frostedflake333 (*grin* Thanks so much for reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying it!),  
  
Bajan Girl (Yes! Someone else who was looking forward to the midnight excursions as much as I was! LMFAO! Glad I'm not the only one! *giggles compulsively* Thanks for reviewing!),  
  
glitter kitty (Awesome! Thanks for the review! Hope you enjoyed their shopping adventures! Hehe! I know I enjoyed writing it!), and (insert clichéd 'last but not least' here):  
  
Mz Marauder! (*giggles* Yesmmm . . . I think we ALL agree with Joey there! Hehe! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! Means a ton!) 


	28. You had to be there

Hey guys! Not much blabby intro this time. lol! Just a huge SORRY! :/ (But at least I didn't take as long as last time!) I've been trying to get my volunteering hours done lately and I'm currently alternating between volleyball and basketball every night, so life's been . . . well, busy and exhausting.  
  
Huge thankyou's go out to: Sirius' sweetie, Sakura, kiwi, soccerchic1989, XoX-PaDfOoTeSs-XoX, Arianna, snap, rowan j. Weasley, abby, STari22, DrewOBrien, greenfairie, Aqua, nimbionic-no, Mz Marauder, baybrie, and Casco.  
  
I heard a nasty rumor that fanfic will get pissed at an author for individually responding to her reviewers, and that totally ticked me off. Just all of you know that I am so, SO thankful for your words. They are truly my motivation to keep going. Hope you're all having a righteous summer! I love you all!  
  
Special thanks to my new Beta, Casco! You know I love ya! And, Snap, I love you too for putting in the time and effort . . . your comp just hates us, that stupid piece of crap. lol!

Love makes everything lovely. -unknown

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For those of you who've forgotten where we are in the story -cause I know I always have to reread before I start up writing again- here is a little blast-from-the-past recap!  
  
Well, it's winter break. Joey's back home with her family: Mom (Betty), Dad (Paul), Josh (and his fiancée Erin), Brian, and Sam. Sirius finally arrived and Joey took him shopping for all his Skiing stuff.  
  
[As a side note, keep in mind that Brian is Joey's favorite brother, though he is a _bit_ squeamish around Joey and Sirius when they get too close. He's a smidgen over-protective of his baby sis. lol. And also, Brian and Sam seem to butt heads a bit. You'll see a lot more of that in this chapter, but keep in mind that lack of sleep puts everyone on edge and tempers tend to flare. :]  
  
The big detail of last chapter was when Betty, at the breakfast table, announces that she and Paul have to attend a Holiday ball, held for the American Ministry of Magic, because they'll be in the states at the time and it's good for European-American relations. One major problem though: The ball is being held by the Strumpets (who happen to send their daughter as a transfer student to Hogwarts even when they live in the US for most of the year), and Catrina Strumpet is Joey's worst enemy at Hogwarts. This is why Joey feels that she needs to go to the ball. She wants to see what Catrina's home life is like. Who can blame her? I'd want to know where someone that evil spawned off from too. lol! But keep in mind that Joey hasn't run this idea past her mum yet! :D  
  
So happy reading!  
  
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"So is that all of it?" Paul asked, slamming shut the trunk of a fairly small looking vehicle. From the outside, any muggle would have thought that only about three fairly large suitcases might have fit in it, but any witch or wizard would know better. Enchanted so that it could hold about a dozen times the amount of stuff it normally could have, Paul had easily crammed eight peoples' worth of ski equipment and suitcases into the trunk, with room to spare.  
  
It had taken the whole group a good many hours more than they had hoped to gather all of their suitcases and last minute things together to pile them into the car. Mr. Atramentous was exhausted from pushing everyone along so that they could leave. Even when everyone had finally decided that they were ready to leave, Mrs. Atramentous was still going around the house, closing and locking things up. They had hoped to leave by noon, but now it was already early evening, and they were just about ready to go.  
  
Exiting the house as a mass, the whole lot of people, clad out in comfortable traveling clothes, began eyeing Mr. Atramentous' small vehicle wearily. Sirius especially, accustomed to traveling in vast comfort like most wealthy pure-blood wizards are, was looking incredulously at the car that seemed to be the only mode of transportation for the eight people who had the same destination to reach.  
  
Joey saw the apprehension in her boyfriends face, and wasn't too surprised when he asked, "And how do you expect us all to fit in there?"  
  
She laughed slightly and tucked her arm into Sirius'. "Don't worry, we'll all manage to squeeze in," she tried to reassure him.  
  
"Not with that fat bird of yours," Sam teased as he glared up at Flam who was perched happily up on Joey's shoulder.  
  
Joey stuck her tongue out at her blonde brother as she stroked her bird with her mitten-clad hand. Needless to say, Flam was quite grateful for this. Sirius appreciated the humor in Sam's comment, but he still didn't seem very comforted. Bird or not, eight people was too many to fit into a car made for five people max.  
  
"Don't worry, mate," Brian said, sparing Sirius a friendly pat on the back. "We won't be in the car for more than 10 minutes. It's a triggered port- key . . . We'll be in the states before you even know it."  
  
Sirius didn't have much time to worry anyways, though, for the next minute the whole family was shoving in and buckling up. To his surprise, the back seat of the car seemed to (magically, no doubt) expand as each new person climbed into it. The outer appearance of the car, however, never seemed to change in the slightest.  
  
With Betty and Paul sitting in the front seats, the rest of the six began systematically sliding into the back seat until they were all in. A passing muggle might have been reminded of a clichéd cartoon act where about a dozen clowns cram into a tiny vehicle that any normal sized person wouldn't dream of fitting in solo.  
  
So without much delay, the rumbling vehicle was well on its way down the street of the pleasant, little neighborhood and off towards a destination that was still a mystery to Sirius. He found himself watching intently as Mr. Atramentous began flipping and turning all different knobs in the car that would have normally been part of radio, heater, and stereo systems in a muggle car.  
  
To Sirius' amazement, all the houses of the neighborhood suddenly seemed to just vaporize before his eyes, and a swirling feeling could be sensed by all the car occupants as a lurching sensation could be felt at the pits of their stomachs. He had to suppress a gasp as a hail of snowflakes and wind began assaulting the front windshield of the car.  
  
It was very clear to everyone in the car that they were no longer in the Atramentous neighborhood. The temperature of the car dropped significantly, and Sirius could feel Joey leaning into him for warmth. He slipped his arm around her and she looked up at him with a beaming smile.  
  
"We're almost there!" she said with definite excitement. He gave her an incredulous look. Surely they weren't there yet. He thought Brian was exaggerating when he said less than 10 minutes. He hadn't been to the states before, but surely traveling across the world takes more than 10 minutes, right? Maybe they were driving to another port key.  
  
"Almost where?" he finally settled on asking. Joey's smile seemed to falter slightly as she seemed confused at Sirius' confusion.  
  
"The cabin, of course!" she laughed. And sure enough they had already slowed down to a crawl and were looking to park in a little tree alcove near a very long case of snow-covered stairs. Though difficult to see through the thick snow, if one looked really hard through the window, they could see them leading up to a fairly large log cabin.  
  
When they had come to a complete stop, Betty had signaled for everyone to stay in the car for a second as she got out of it. Though it was snowing quite hard, they could still easily view the woman raise her wand above her head, hear her mutter a few spells, and watch as the ground directly around the car magically cleared itself of snow and as a single path cleared its way up towards the stairs leading to a large wooden deck of the cabin.  
  
Mr. Atramentous then got out of the car and opened the door to the back seat, motioning for the kids to pile on out and help him with the luggage. As they all exited one by one, they could see that it was definitely still snowing, however the snowflakes would vaporize before they hit the ground in the areas that Betty had cleared. They could easily grab their luggage and ski equipment and make their way up to the cabin without having to worry about tromping through the snow.  
  
Joey was the last one to exit the car, and Mr. Atramentous was still holding the door open and waiting for her to come out when he finally poked his head in to see what the hold-up was. What he saw made him want to laugh out loud.  
  
"Joanne, Sweetie, what on _earth_ are you doing to that poor bird?!" Paul asked with a tone of hilarity in his voice. Joey was currently pulling a small little snow hat over Flam's head and tying the hat's little poof balls together that hung down below his beak. Flam looked distressed, to say the least, and Joey was completely ignorant to this fact.  
  
When she had finished, she returned Flam to his perch on her shoulder, and got out of the car. The bird looked miserable, but Paul couldn't help cracking up, despite his sorry feelings for the owl. He knew that animal loved Joey too much to object to the subtle torture of clothing (let alone poof balls that tie below the beak), and it really was just too funny to look at the bird looking so dejected and compliant at the same time.  
  
When the whole parade of them finally made their way up the stairs to the front deck of the cabin, they waited for a bit as Josh fiddled with keys and eventually unlocked the door. They all uncoordinatedly piled themselves in the heavy wooden entrance and shut it behind them to lock out the cold. The only problem was that the cold was already in the room. Sirius thought that if he closed his eyes it wouldn't be too difficult to imagine himself in a meat locker.  
  
"Well we're here!" Betty said extremely cheerfully into the darkness of the cabin.  
  
"Mum, what time is it here?" Sam had asked, looking over in the general direction of his mother through the dark.  
  
"I believe we left at about five o'clock in the evening our time, so I'd say it's about nine o'clock in the morning here, seeing as there's an eight hour time difference." Although it was mid morning there, it was still pitch black in the room due to the nasty weather and depressing lack of sun. It seemed a bit shady and foreboding not being able to see anything, leaving everyone's minds to focus on the howling winds beating against the windows.  
  
Everyone was grateful when Betty began brightening up the room by turning on a few lights. The room looked suddenly much more inviting. Directly in front of them was a very large rectangular room, subtly divided into different sections according to furniture and half-walls that only went up to about mid-ribcage height. Along the length of the left side of the room were a few fairly large windows looking out to a deck that peered out to the lake. Normally during summer the lake would be easy to view, but during winter, the windows were quite frosty and difficult to see out. There were still, however, three cushioned lounges shaped like half-domes taking up a nook on the far corner of the room, facing out towards the water. Each one was huge and could easily fit two people in its squishy hallow. They looked like comfortable places to sit and read a book.  
  
Taking up the rest of the far end of the room was a very large sitting area, complete with couches, a fire place, and a short table that looked to serve as a place to rest your coffee as well as your ski-worn feet. There was a door over there, as well, that led into one of the main bedrooms.  
  
Directly in front of the group on the left side of the room was a large wooden dining table that looked to seat about eight. It was sitting in front of one of the windows, and looked like a pleasant place to have a few meals while conversing with friends and family. And directly to the group's right was an attractive kitchen, enclosed by its counters and bar stools that ran along the outside of it. It contained all of the necessities: refrigerator, oven, microwave, cabinets, etc., and it was big enough to fit a few cooks bustling around in it. It was Betty's favorite place in the cabin, as she loved to bake.  
  
Between the kitchen and the sitting area on the far right side of the room was a passageway to a long hallway. There were three doors in the hall way -one a bedroom, one a bathroom, and one a closet- and one door at the end of it. The door at the end of the hallway led back outside onto a tiny deck that was enchanted to keep snow off it.  
  
Walking out to this very small deck would lead you left, through another wooden door, and into another bedroom. This bedroom was about twice the size of either other bedroom because it held two queen beds (barely within jumping distance from each other) and could certainly hold more than just two people. There were also a few windows in the room, a door leading to a bathroom, a television, and a couple reading lights on nightstands next to the beds.  
  
"So where are we all sleeping?" Josh asked his parents as everyone was now looking around to unload all of their heavy stuff.  
  
"Well your mother and I can take the front room and you and Erin can take the hallway's bedroom," Paul reasoned. "I'd suggest that Joey and the boys take the back bedroom and split up the beds however. Anyone with skis can just leave them here in the front. We won't make it out to the lifts until tomorrow anyways; _hopefully_, the weather will start looking a bit more welcoming."  
  
"It'll be better to spend a day getting settled in anyways," Betty said as she picked up her bags and began making her way across the large room towards the door to the front bedroom. Paul followed behind her, and Josh and Erin made their way towards their own bedroom to offload, as well.  
  
Brian grabbed the keys from Josh and made his way down the hall and out the door, closely followed by his other three roommates. Once in the room, Sirius managed to haul his heavy bag over to the bed at the far end of the room and heave it onto the squishy bedspread. Joey followed him, haphazardly lugging her bag along and chucking it next to Sirius' on the bed.  
  
Brian let out a blatantly audible cough, causing both Joey and Sirius to look over at him with innocently curious glances.  
  
"And _what_, may I ask, do you think _you_ are doing?" he asked after throwing down his bag and glaring pointedly at his sister. Joey's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.  
  
"What?" she asked a bit defensively. Without having to say anything, Brian strolled across the room, grabbed Joey's bag and chucked it onto the other bed next to his own duffle.  
  
"First of all," he started out rather snappily, "I am _not_ sharing a bed with Sam." Sam took the opportunity to let out an offended scoff as he put his stuff down next to Sirius'. "And second of all, _you_ are not sleeping with Sirius while Sam and I are in the room."  
  
Sam, who was now currently standing next to Sirius, glared over at him with one of his eyebrows high up on his forehead. It looked like he was challenging him, and Sirius wasn't going to get in the middle of this. He knew Joey had three older brothers who would gladly kill him before having to see or hear him even _kiss_ their little sister.  
  
But Joey seemed to think otherwise. She was now glaring up into Brian's face, hands on her hips, and chin jutting out. "Oh, _pulease_, Brian! It's not like we haven't already-"  
  
"I BEG you not to finish that statement!" Sam cut in rather desperately. Joey glanced over at the youngest of her three brothers, and let out a laugh. He really did look quite pleading. Shifting her eyes over to Sirius' she gave him half a smile and a shrug.  
  
"Oh, fine!" she conceded. "As long as Sirius doesn't mind getting kicked by Sam all night, I suppose I'm fine with it too." Joey crossed her arms. "Just be wary. One time he kicked me off the bed and I hit my head on the night stand." Sirius' eyes widened slightly, but he just smiled and shrugged.  
  
"Whatever," he said with an amiable laugh. "I'll kick back." The other three found themselves smiling, as well.  
  
"Well now that that's settled . . ." Sam started as he immediately went digging in the front pocket of his duffle. "Think fast!" he shouted as he chucked a blue and green stringyball-looking thing at his sister, who easily caught it without trouble.  
  
"Kush ball!" Joey said sounding really happy. It was one of Sam's favorite _games_, if you could even call it that. They'd played it since they were little, and it could easily be labeled as one of those games everyone has fun playing until someone gets hurt. The ball itself was more of a weapon than a ball. One hit to the eye and a good icepack and bandage would be in store. Sam and Joey, of course, were in complete denial of this fact though.  
  
Brian, however, despised the game.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" he snapped, ducking behind the bed. "I always end up getting pegged in the head when we play with that stupid ball!"  
  
Joey just rolled her eyes and then focused back on the ball she was currently tossing up and catching with her right hand. "Oh, come on Brian! It's really squishy! Not like it hurts when you get hit with it!"  
  
"That's what you think!" Brian spat back. "It doesn't hurt so much when you can't get walloped by your own throw. You pitch harder than anyone else does, Joey!"  
  
His sister looked a bit offended, and when she looked back to Sam for some support on her side of the argument, he simply shrugged and nodded along with what Brian was saying. The mischievous smile that then found its way to her face was just a bit unnerving for her brother across the room. Winding up, she chucked the kush ball really hard back at Sam, who ducked, and caused the ball to smack Sirius in the side of the head.  
  
"OUCH!" he bellowed, causing Sam, Joey, and even Brian to start laughing. He started rubbing the side of his head when Sam lunged for the ball and flung it back at his sister. Joey dove behind the bed next to Brian, and the kush ball ended up smacking into one of the bed lamps and knocking it over onto the carpeted floor. Brian had to duck out of the way as the lamp came crashing down past his spot on the floor.  
  
Brian went to snatch up the ball and hide it, but Joey got there first. She hurtled it across the room, much like a grenade, in the direction of her blonde brother and boyfriend. There was a sound of kush connecting with skull for a moment before the blonde boy let out a shriek of pain. Joey had to put a hand up to her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.  
  
Brian looked livid.  
  
"Guys! Quit acting like five-year-olds before someone gets hit in the face!" he yelled over the commotion as he stood up and glared across the room at his brother's very blonde head of hair sticking up from behind the other bed. Brian was answered with a blow to the face when the ball connected hard to his upper lip and nose, and Sam let out a wild battle cry. Brian sat down on the floor immediately, cradling the lower half of his face. It wasn't helping his situation with Joey next to him, practically dying from laughter.  
  
Joey tried desperately to straighten her face into a sympathetic expression for the sake of her favorite brother, but she just found the situation too damn hilarious. Finally managing to gain some composure, she scooted over next to him and put her hand on his back.  
  
"You alright?" she whispered. He pulled his hands away from supporting his tender nose, and looked over into her face. Running his tongue over his front teeth, he tasted a good amount of blood in his mouth and just glared over at his younger sister. His eyes moved to the ball that was sitting on his opposite side. Picking it up, he tossed it lightly over to Joey who easily caught it.  
  
"Oh, I hope he knows this means war," he said with his best melodramatic tenor. Joey grinned broadly. "Just make sure you peg him between the eyes," he mumbled, groaning in defeat as his sister jumped up and let out a battle cry of her own, chucking the ball in the direction of the opposing side across the room.  
  
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Nothing much else happened that morning since the whole family stayed cooped up in the cabin with some pretty bad weather outside. Joey and the three boys continued playing with the kush ball until even Joey was practically bleeding from the nose.  
  
It was around midday when everyone started slowing down. The jetlag started catching up to them, and while it was only a little past lunch time there in the states, at home it was way past bedtime and that was the clock that their bodies were set to. When they were all planning to lie down for a nice long nap, however, Paul came in and advised against it.  
  
"The fastest way to get your bodies to adjust to the time change is to not give into the urge to remain on the same sleep schedule you were in," he had explained. "The sooner you get used to staying awake this time of the day, the sooner you'll adjust to the Western sleep cycle."  
  
The droopy eyes and looks on the four faces in front of him told him that they were about to crash. So he did what any parent would do in trying to keep some kids awake. He dragged them into the other room for some game playing and hot chocolate.  
  
They resorted to playing pinochle, a muggle card game. Brian ended up beating the others so badly that they eventually had to call it quits and play a different game. The card playing helped loads to keep them conscious, though. Everyone was awake and having a good time without even thinking about the fact that in Europe they would have been sound asleep at least a couple hours before. The only problem was that once they had all finished their hot chocolate, their bodies started slowing down again, and eventually Joey's head drifted off onto Sirius' shoulder.  
  
She was about half a yawn away from drooling all over his shirt sleeve when she was suddenly startled awake by a long strand of holly streamer dangling in her face. She nearly fell off her chair in surprise as her eyes focused on, less than an inch away from her nose, a huge knot of spindly green garland that was meant to resemble evergreen needles. The knot was so big that the ball actually resembled a small boulder more than it did Christmas decorations. Joey's mom was energetically standing somewhere behind the giant boulder, supporting it up with both of her short arms.  
  
"So you guys will be helping me with the Christmas decorations, right?!" she said with so much zeal, that anyone just meeting her would not believe that jetlag even existed in this woman's world. Joey let out an audible groan that was surprisingly difficult to hear over the groans of her brothers sitting around her.  
  
Betty was notorious for going crazy with Christmas decorations. It was her favorite time of year, and she always insisted on doing the holiday "by hand." She refused to put up any decorations with magic because she believed that it took all the fun out of it. So every year she insisted on her daughter and three sons to help her work out all the knots, hang up all the trimmings, and set out all the decorations. It'd been a tradition for longer than any of them could remember.  
  
"Can't we just do it with magic for once, mum?" Sam pleaded. He absolutely hated putting up Christmas decorations. He always said it was a waste of time since they'd be taking them down before they knew it anyways. But Betty always chose to ignore him and recruit him as part of her festivity team all the same.  
  
"Absolutely not!" she said, all but stomping her foot adamantly. Sam and Brian sighed in defeat, shared a look, and then got to their feet to grab some décor to hang about the room.  
  
Joey reluctantly took the giant knot of holly-streamers from her mother and adopted Sirius as her helper to untangle it. Everyone had a job, and even Paul and Josh had gone out in the snow to find a Christmas tree to chop down and bring back to the cabin to hang the ornaments on. Betty and Erin had eventually retired to the kitchen to cook up some dinner for everyone, and the four younger adults were left to their labors.  
  
It seemed like forever before Joey and Sirius finally managed to untangle the huge, green rat-nest and hang it up all around the room. By the end of everyone's efforts, the room was almost overly dressed with red and green to the point of being sickening. The four workers left stood back to admire their work.  
  
"Wow," was all Brian mumbled, all but hiding the grimace on his face. It really was a tad sickening.  
  
"Yeah," Joey muttered back, "Mum really had us smother this room." Sam snorted.  
  
"Yeah . . . I'd say it's pretty FF," Sam snickered. Joey smacked his arm and Sirius looked questioning.  
  
"What's FF?" he asked quizzically. Both Brian and Sam grinned before cracking up.  
  
"Fucking festive," Joey grumbled under her breath so as not to let her mom hear her from the next room. Sirius started laughing too. Joey just rolled her eyes. _Boys, honestly_.  
  
"Well you have to admit it looks like Santa's sleigh barfed all over this room," Sam laughed defensively. He managed to crack a smile on his sister's face.  
  
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That night everyone had decided to turn in somewhat early. They'd been up for about 24 hours straight thanks to the time change, and they had good prospects for the next day. In hopes of some better weather, they were all looking forward to getting up early and heading to the lifts.  
  
So it was around eleven o'clock when Joey, Sirius, Brian, and Sam all headed back to their room for bed. They just about collapsed under the covers once they had dressed and brushed their teeth. Joey was so tired she felt like her mattress was swallowing her body the minute her head hit the pillow. The lights when out and everyone was quiet . . .  
  
All for about a minute.  
  
"Ouch, Sam!" Sirius cried through a stupor of drowsiness. Why did _he_ have to sleep next to the boy who apparently had some major issues with limb control while he slept?! Then he remembered the whole scene Brian had made, _and_ the fact that he was doing this for Joey. He just kept telling himself this was all for his girlfriend's sake.  
  
"Sorry," Sam responded through the darkness. Then he started laughing. Apparently the jetlag was beginning to have the reverse effect on him as his body was used to being _awake_ right about now. Brian growled grumpily at his loud brother from across the room.  
  
"Sam, shut up!" he snapped from somewhere in the direction of the other bed. "We've been awake for, like, a _day_ straight. How can you have enough energy to laugh right now?"  
  
The blonde boy continued to giggle through the darkness. It was really the fatigue that was getting to him. Joey just sighed audibly, inadvertently catching the attention of her brothers.  
  
"Joey, you awake?" Sam asked as he ignored his older brother, pausing for a moment in his laughter to sound genuinely curious. The room went silent as they all listened for a response. She groaned into her pillow, hoping the other noises in the room that were her brothers would go away. There was silence for another moment.  
  
But Sam started laughing again.  
  
"ARG!" Brian growled. "Sam, pipe down already!"  
  
Joey mumbled something and the two brothers fell silent again. Sam grabbed his wand, muttered a _lumos_ and shined the light over in the direction of his sister who was in the other bed across the room. She was face down in her pillow, breathing deeply and peacefully.  
  
"What was that?" he asked the girl who was now in a spot light. They all practically held their breath for a moment to listen for a response. "Joe, you asleep?"  
  
There was a moment's pause before she broke the silence.  
  
"No," she grumbled through her fatigue, yet the sarcasm was still very much there, "I'm just looking for something in my pillow."  
  
Both Brian and Sam blinked for a moment and stared at her. Then Sam felt a rumbling next to him under the covers and realized that Sirius was laughing. Sam turned his light to the guy sleeping next to him and got a slight whimper in response. He had blinded him.  
  
"Sam, would you have enough courtesy to turn off that damn light and go to sleep?!" Brian snapped at his younger brother. Sam frowned slightly, his brother's attitude finally getting to him.  
  
"You know, you could use to be a little nicer," Sam pouted.  
  
"Not when I'm sleep deprived!" he growled back.  
  
"Sleep deprived or not, you still don't have to act like a prick!" he spat back.  
  
"Both of you shut up!" Joey barked.  
  
"I'll shut up when I get an apology," Sam said obstinately. Brian scoffed.  
  
"Then I guess you'll have to keep making noise _all night long_ while the rest of us go to sleep. No way will you get me to say sorry to _you_," he retorted rather snootily.  
  
Joey just let out a frustrated huff of air. All the while, Sirius remained sleepy and silent, just lying there _awake_ next to the boy who was both the cause and the instigator of this noise. He felt like leaning over and strangling him, but instead just kept asking himself why he wasn't curled up in a bed with Joey, peacefully snoozing in a warm cocoon of just the two of them.  
  
Then he remembered it was the _other_ brother's fault for that.  
  
At that point in the middle of the night, completely sleep deprived thanks to Joey's father and completely worn-out from decorating thanks to her mother, Sirius didn't have the most grateful feelings towards his girlfriend's family. The only family member of Joey's that he didn't find blameworthy of his angry stupor of exhaustion was Josh . . . but by that point, Sirius was just about ready to blame the oldest brother of the Atramentous family for taking the last single bedroom.  
  
"I could _make_ you apologize!" Sam growled back like a stubborn kindergartener. Brian let out mock laughter.  
  
"What are you going to go do? Tell Mummy that Brian told you to shut up because you're being an annoying arse?!" That was the last sound that any of them heard before they heard the one noise that set the night off into a pandemonium.  
  
_It was the sound of one particular kush ball making a belting contact with the forehead of one already fuming Brian.  
_  
And then there was a whole sequence of noises that followed suit. First there was the rustle of sheets; Brian was leaving the bed despite Joey's protests of him letting the situation go and just trying to get some sleep. Then there was the adamant padding of feet across the floor to the bathroom; the bathroom light flipped on and spewed light across the carpet of the bedroom. Next there was the most horrifying sound that could have reached the ears of the blonde boy sitting up next to a Sirius who had finally decided that sleep was futile at this point; the toilet flushed.  
  
The toilet flush would not have been such a horrific sound had it not been followed by the mumbling phrase, "huh, -what do you know?- it _actually_ flushed."  
  
Sam shrieked loud enough for it to echo across the room. He jumped out of the bed and ran across the room to the bathroom. Both Joey and Sirius sat up in their beds and shared a look that was a mixture between uncertainty and dread. This was going to be bad. From the bathroom, they could hear Sam scream,  
  
"I don't believe it! You actually flushed my kush ball down the toilet, you bastard!!!"  
  
Then there was the skirting of skin and against skin, the obvious sign that the boys were wrestling and no doubt trying to choke each other to death. Joey and Sirius jumped out of the bed and rushed over towards the bathroom completely ready to have to break-up a nasty brawl. But as fast as they approached, they had to back out of the doorway as the boys moved their scuffle into the bedroom. They were ripping at hair and grabbing each other around the necks, grunting and growling all the while trying to bruise up the other the best they could.  
  
The problem here was that Brian was much stronger, bigger, and in better shape than his younger brother. As a member of the Order, Brian was quite in a fit state of health. He could easily take down his little brother who chose mediwizarding as his profession. But, obviously, Brian wasn't really aiming to fatally hurt his brother . . . they were both just angry and taking some physical rage out on each other.  
  
So it was to Joey's and Sirius's surprise that the brawl didn't last as long as they thought it would. Unfortunately, it took a turn for the worse as soon as Brian managed to pick Sam up off his feet and haul him towards the door of the cabin. Practically flinging the wooden door off its hinges as he opened it, he chucked Sam, bare-footed and bare-chested, out onto the cold, icy deck. Then he whipped the door shut.  
  
And locked it.  
  
"Anyone who opens that door back up gets to join him," Brian growled as he crawled under the covers. Joey spared her boyfriend an apologetic glance before she crawled in next to her brother. Sirius hesitated for a moment before moving back towards his bed that was now quite empty. He sighed.  
  
Even if Sam was outside, making it virtually impossible for the fighting with his brother to keep them awake, there was still the issue of drowning out the blonde boy's yells and screams from out on the porch.  
  
Sirius' eyes fell shut as his ears focused in on the hullabaloo Sam was making from outside the door, banging on it and yelling at the top of his lungs to let him back in. Then all three of them heard something they didn't expect. It was the sound of the other door on the porch, leading into the main cabin, opening. They could all clearly hear Josh's angry voice cutting through the night as Sam was muttering something back to him, incomprehensible to anyone in the room. They heard the other door fall shut again and then the night was silent.  
  
Finally.  
  
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The next morning was . . . _interesting_, to say the least.  
  
At least everyone's spirits were a bit higher because the weather was so nice. They had all woken up to actual sunshine beaming through their window shades. It was a wonderful feeling to see the sun glimmering off the snow-covered ground outside. Everyone seemed to share the thought that it was one of the most beautiful things one could see in nature. It was truly an invitation to grab some skis and head out to the lifts.  
  
But there was certainly still a bit of animosity in the air . . . _especially_ when Brian had woken up the next day to find a dark purple bruise smack-dab in the middle of his forehead. He was still fuming at his younger brother all through breakfast and on the drive over to the ski resort. Josh, too, was a little ticked at his youngest brother as well, seeing as it was his screaming and yelling the night before that had woken him up.  
  
But over all, Betty and Paul had done their best to smooth the situation over by the time they had reached the lifts. On arrival, Paul and Betty had gone to get everyone lift passes, and by the time they returned to the group, they were all suited up and ready for the day.  
  
As much as Sirius kept telling himself that he wasn't nervous, he was certainly still feeling the butterflies in his stomach. He did not feel balanced _at all_ with those metal things attached to his feet, and he had half a mind to just ditch the skis and slide down the slopes on his butt. . . it might be more comfortable.  
  
But Joey had a leash on him right from the start.  
  
"Now we'll start on the learning slopes," she had reassured him as they watched the other six people in their party head on over towards the lifts leading up to some more challenging slopes. Sirius gave her a grateful nod, and Joey took his hand and began making her way over towards a group of young kids in line with their parents. They seemed to be waiting to get up a hill that was barely even a slant.  
  
The line led up to the base of the slant where the skier was supposed to grab onto a little make-shift-lift thing that towed them up the miniature 'hill' to the top.  
  
"Joey, this is so uncomfortable!" he whined in her ear once they reached the top. "I feel like such an idiot around all these little kids!" Joey started giggling.  
  
"Well then, I guess that's your incentive to learn how to ski before moving onto a bigger slope!" she said cheerfully, not sounding a bit as embarrassed as he. He glared at her slightly.  
  
"Why are we even over here? This area is meant for people who aren't four feet tall yet!"  
  
"So I can teach you how to turn, how to slow down, and just basically how to maneuver on the skis. Believe me, you'll be happy you have the knowledge once you get flying down an actual hill," she reassured him. He gave her half a smile and a nod, yet still managed to maintain this doubtful glare in his eyes. He knew he should listen to her, but this just felt like torture.  
  
Sliding down the hill at snail pace was not only quite boring for Sirius, but it was humiliating too. It got worse, though, when the little kids behind him began to overtake his speed. Especially when a little girl about the age of five lost her balance next to him and grabbed onto the pocket of his ski pants as she was falling. She pulled him down along with her, and Joey had made the effort to keep Sirius in a standing position by putting an arm around his shoulders, making for a very awkward landing. He had luckily managed to keep his pants up on his waist, but had made a rough landing on his butt, Joey somehow landing gracelessly on top of him. The little girl had gotten up easily enough and skied off, but it took a lot of balance on Joey's part to pick herself up off her boyfriend and help him to his feet at the same time.  
  
It was bad enough that they were the two biggest people on the 'mini- slope,' but here they were the only two who had fallen down, as well. Not only that, but it had also taken more than a couple of tries before the both of them were standing successfully without slipping again. At that point they were practically shooed off the slope by one of the lift workers.  
  
_Apparently, they had been holding up the traffic of five-year-olds behind them.  
_  
Currently, Joey and Sirius were standing in the middle of the ski resort, looking around for an idea for their next course of action. Sirius' butt was already bruised, but he wasn't sure if that was what was hurting so much as his ego. He was still fuming at that lift worker who'd kicked them off the learning slope, but there was nothing he could do about it. _Bastard_.  
  
"Well do you feel ready enough to try out an actual slope now?" She asked with genuine concern. Sirius shrugged nonchalantly. Please. He was a Black. He could handle anything.  
  
"I'll go with you on whatever slope you choose," he said compliantly. Joey smirked at him.  
  
"Well, I'm not going to throw you on any black diamond just yet," she said with a laugh. "Why don't we start with a friendly bunny slope?"  
  
Sirius just shrugged and followed his girlfriend as she began making her way over towards a fairly small slope jam-packed with little kids. His eyes bugged out at the enormous line they had to wait in just to get to an itty-bitty lift that took them about half-way up a shallow hill. Craning his neck around to try and see what was taking so long for their line to move, his eyes focused on the entrance to another lift off in the distance. It was for an intermediate slope, had barely any line, and its passengers were circulating through the lift with ease. This was about the time he felt a lot like a burden to Joey. He sighed audibly to get her attention.  
  
"Joey, I'm sorry I'm ruining your vacation by making you stand in these ridiculously long lines with a bunch of kids. I know you'd rather be skiing on more challenging slopes with people who actually know how to ski."  
  
Joey's eyebrows furrowed up and she gave him ones of those 'you idiot' kind of looks. Then she just smiled up at him as she tucked one of her delicate arms inside his jacket and around his waist. She pulled herself closer to him, though quite hindered from doing so by the long skis attached to her feet.  
  
"Sirius, there is no one else I'd rather spend my vacation with . . . even if it means I have to wait in line with a bunch of brats the whole time I'm here."  
  
Sirius just leaned in towards her face and she got the hint, tilting her head up slightly to meet his lips in a soft, slow kiss. She smiled slightly against his mouth and turned her head to the side to get a better angle.  
  
"Ewww, guys, LOOK!"  
  
"Sick!!!"  
  
"Gross!!!" they heard some little pip-squeaks chorusing behind them. Joey and Sirius both broke apart grudgingly and turned to face the jeering trio of seven-year-old boys behind them.  
  
"Get a room!" one of them laughed as his other friends high-fived him. Joey couldn't help but blush a little as most of the people in the line turned their attention towards them.  
  
Sirius' eyes narrowed instinctively. "Speaking of brats . . ." he muttered angrily under his breath.  
  
"Oh, ignore them," she growled with a roll of her eyes, grabbing Sirius' arm to get him to face back towards the front of the line. When they had turned back around, they had made sure to keep the distance between them obvious enough to avoid drawing any more attention to themselves.  
  
"But, seriously," she said, trying to get back to their original conversation, "it's so much more fun hanging around with you. Normally I'd have been riding the difficult courses all day with my brothers, having to put up with their annoying competitions as to who can reach the bottom first or do the most tricks. It's quite annoying, really."  
  
Sirius just smiled. "Glad I could help," he said teasingly. Joey just smirked.  
  
Riding the bunny slope was anything but challenging. Even Sirius found it yawn-inducing, and that was the first time he had actually been on an incline big enough to cause a marble to roll. Even the lift was ridiculously easy. It was set up in a way that children could get on and off of it easily, and if you possessed the powers of sitting and standing, it was a piece of cake. Joey was still just slightly nervous about bringing Sirius onto an intermediate slope. She knew the slopes weren't as easy to get on and off of, and the courses were significantly more difficult than the children's slope. But Sirius had done fabulously well on the bunny slope, and Joey finally decided that he had merited the promotion to a tougher one.  
  
"So are you ready to try a harder slope?" she asked encouragingly. Sirius nodded in affirmative. He wanted a little challenge.  
  
"I was hoping you'd say that!" she said with a beaming smile. ". . . mainly because I want to bring you onto one of my favorite slopes," she admitted. "It's actually a combination of an intermediate and an advanced slope because half way through there is a split in the route. Just make sure you stay to the left and you'll be fine," she cautioned, yet her smile never left her face. She seemed really excited about this slope, and Sirius didn't have the heart to tell her that he was already panicking. There was already too much to worry about with this being a more challenging course 'n all, and now he had to worry about a frickin' fork in the road?! His stomach did a flip flop, and he silently prayed that, by the end of this day, all his vertebrae would still be connected in one, healthy, non-shattered spinal-column.  
  
The line to get onto the slope was practically non-existent, so Sirius had little to no time to back out of the situation. There were so many red flags going up all around him, and he felt just about primed for a panic attack.  
  
The first red flag he spotted was, literally, just that: right before getting on the lift, he had spotted the medic's red snow-mobile driving up around a bend of trees and out of sight; up the back way of the hill _they_ were planning on coming down, no less. Did that mean this slope was so difficult that people were frequently getting injured badly enough to need a medic to rush to the scene?! His imagination began running wild with what might have happened to someone to require a freakin' snow mobile to come rescue them. Sirius inwardly groaned. This was surely foreshadowing his death.  
  
His second red flag was when his ski nearly fell off when they actually got on the lift. He was so worried about that damn medic-mobile he had seen, that he didn't even realize when his ski got hooked on Joey's and slightly unlatched. One of the lift workers helped him fix the problem before it really became an issue, though, and he had managed to keep his ski on.  
  
_This situation, however, was what set off the reaction for a third flag to go unnoticed . . .  
_  
Completely to Sirius' ignorance, his ski pole had gotten completely wedged into a tiny space between the seat and the chair-lift's side supports. He was still hanging tightly onto the pole, though, and the issue went completely unobserved. Joey didn't realize his problem either because, one, she was sitting on the other side of him, and, two, she was also busy lecturing him on what to do.  
  
"So when you get off the lift, make sure you give yourself a good push off the seat. This lift is different from the other one because there's a dip at the end of it to get to the beginning of the slope. Don't be nervous, just hold onto your poles tightly and slide down the steep little drop to the flat area at the top of the slope."  
  
"Okay," he responded somewhat wearily. Sirius was looking down, trying to grasp every bit of information Joey was sharing with him, but he was inevitably watching the ground slope steeper and steeper and the base of the mountain fall further and further away from him. He was so nervous, and he could only hope that he'd come out of this alive. This mountain was huge! Who in their right mind would connect an intermediate course with an advanced one?!!! They were just asking for a poor sap like Sirius to get scammed into going down it and smashing themselves into a tree! Joey noticed this look of trepidation on Sirius' face, and decided to make sure he was really processing everything she was saying and not just going into a catatonic state of panic.  
  
"So tell me which way you're going to go when you get to the fork," she requested more than asked of him.  
  
Sirius looked up into her face and confidently said, "left."  
  
"Right," she replied.  
  
"Right? I thought it was left! Oh, god, I'm going to die!" he practically howled in fright. That just confirmed his fears to Joey.  
  
"No! Sirius, I mean, 'you're right, it's left!'" she said urgently, grasping his arm and giving it a comforting squeeze. Her eyes showed that she was really worried. "Are you okay?"  
  
Sirius just looked over at her a sighed slightly, making an effort to let a strangled breath from his lungs. He nodded quite spastically, showing that he was in fact trying desperately to convince himself more that the girl sitting in front of him. "Yeah, I'm okay . . . really, I am . . . okay that is. Cause why wouldn't I be okay? This'll be really fun. Really. Okay?"  
  
At this point, Joey's eyes were almost comically wide as she listened to her boyfriend ramble pathetically. If she had known Sirius was going to freak out like this, she wouldn't have brought him on this hard of a slope. Mentally slapping herself, guilt completely took over and she felt horrible. This was all her fault. She knew he'd only gone along with it because _she_ wanted to do this. Joey knew this slope was too difficult for him, but somehow she'd just forgotten to register that fact. He'd only been on the freakin' bunny slope for crying out loud! Subconsciously she must have wanted to ski so badly that she'd forgotten about how Sirius was so new at this. She'd been skiing since she was four! Certainly it was an easy mistake to make. But now here they were and Sirius was going to have to suffer because of her lack of consideration.  
  
Joey soon realized that she didn't have much time to worry about it much longer anyways, as they were nearing the end of the lift. The steep drop was just up ahead of them and both Joey and Sirius began preparing themselves for the departure from the seat. Right as Sirius tried to position his poles up in front of himself, however, he realized the issue he was having with the pole on his left side.  
  
"Joey, MY POLE IS STUCK!" he practically screamed in a wave of panic. Joey looked over at him frantically, hoping she had heard him incorrectly. The last thing Sirius needed right now was to panic over yet another thing. That issue aside, the big problem was that they were about to get off the freakin' chair and a part of her boyfriend was still attached to it!  
  
They both began yanking and pulling as hard as they could, but with all of their bulky clothes on and the small space they had to maneuver on the seat, their efforts were in vain. Within moments their chair had reached its drop off destination and was nearing the point where it would swing around to the left and head back in the opposite direction.  
  
Sirius became frantic and his emotions were contagious. Joey, who by now had jumped off the chair and was getting pushed along in front of it, had gripped his arm already and began yanking him to get off the chair. They still had the steep little dip to worry about, but she just wanted to make sure he got off the lift safely before that was an issue.  
  
"Sirius, come on! Give it a good yank and let's go!" she urged frantically. But Sirius continued to jerk at the pole to no avail. The strap at the end of the pole was still wrapped around his wrist as well, and his glove was hindering his ability to just slip it off and ditch it.  
  
"Joey now _I'M_ caught!!!" he screeched as the chair began pulling him along in its half circle on its return route. Joey panicked and began yanking on her boyfriend as hard as she could. They were nearing a point that would surely be dangerous for both of them to pass if they didn't sit back down on the chair and take the ski-lift back down the hill. They'd be dragged through the trees!  
  
Finally, she just reached over, grabbed his wrist, and as hard as she could, wrenched his hand out of the glove and binding pole-strap. Sirius was ready to cry out in pain, but the yell was cut off as the momentum from the yanking cause him to fly backwards down the dip, rolling all the way. Joey slid down the mini-drop gracefully enough to land next to Sirius who was sprawled out in the snow on his back, blocking the way for most of the people behind them trying to get off the lift.  
  
"You lost a ski," she pointed out as Sirius' gaze drifted over towards one of his skis that was lying a few feet away from his head. It had apparently flown off during his little trip down the dip.  
  
"I lost more than that," he groaned painfully as he looked back at the lift. All its passengers were easily hoping off their chairs and elegantly gliding down the little drop with no trouble at all. He rolled his eyes. _Bastards_. He held his left arm up for Joey to examine his missing glove. "I think my wrist is broken," he said, sitting up and cradling it to his body.  
  
"Seriously?" she asked, an extremely pained expression on her face. The wind was blowing sharply through the mountains, and a few snowflakes had collected in her hair. Her nose was a slight cherry pink and her cheeks were stained with a few wet splotches from her wind-whipped and watery eyes. "I was so afraid you were going to get pulled back the other way and get yanked into the trees," she whispered, her eyes large and glossy. "I'm just glad you're okay."  
  
He smiled at her and tried to lighten-up the situation. "Well now I have a really good reason to love skiing. Who wouldn't love getting dragged through some evergreens because their wrist got welded to the chair-lift?"  
  
Joey gave him a sad smile. "So how do you plan on making it down the hill with only one glove and one pole?"  
  
Sirius shrugged as he put back on his ski that had flown off. "I just survived that dangerous ski-lift to get up here and now you don't want me to go down the damned slope?" he started laughing. "And I was worried the _slope_ was gonna kill me. No, Joey. Don't worry about it. I'll be fine," he said casually as he began heading over towards the edge where the slope began; Joey followed close behind. "I'll just meet you at the bottom."  
  
"Okay, but please take care of what's left of you!" she called out to him over the wind as he slowly began inching over the edge of the mountain. She couldn't help but to be worried.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry!" he answered, "So turn _right_ at the fork?" he asked jokingly over his shoulder just before he began speeding down the slope.  
  
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Joey had been so proud of him.  
  
Sirius had made it down the hill with one arm cradled to his body and only one pole to steer himself. He really might've been a natural had he not been so damn prone to accidents while skiing, Joey mused to herself. They'd decided to lay off the skiing for the rest of their day until they could get Sirius' wrist some medical help. And they weren't talking about muggle help. That was slow and pointless.  
  
That's why they'd been sitting a ways away from the bottom of the advanced- side of the slope, waiting for when Sam would eventually pass by. Joey knew her 19-year-old brother would be going down that slope, since they both considered it their favorite. They'd always gone down it a couple of times together every time they had come skiing.  
  
And Joey new Sam always had his medi-wand with him. He guarded it with his life and that thing never left his side. It was virtually good for anything, and it was especially powerful to help with the demanding task of healing a human wound.  
  
And so they waited. And waited. And waited some more. Finally, Joey spotted her brother's towhead from about midway up the hill. He was wearing a red jacket and black ski pants, and he slid down the mountain like an expert would. Reaching the bottom at break-neck speed, he let out a whoop and lifted both of his arms in the air. A little behind him, Josh was visible skiing up from behind, knocking him playfully in the back of the head, and skiing off in the opposite direction. Their laughter was contagious and Sirius and Joey both found themselves smiling from just simply watching the scene.  
  
Joey called out to her brothers and they responded in an instant, recognizing the sign of injury with the two stranded in the middle of the snow.  
  
"You two all right?" Josh had asked with his deep voice resonating slightly off the snowy ground.  
  
"Sirius hurt his wrist. Can you help him?"  
  
"Yeah, of course!" Sam said with a nod and instantly unhooked his skis and knelt beside his sister's boyfriend. He supported the wrist with his own hands as he examined it, removing his wand from his boot and muttering a few things.  
  
Josh had sat down on the other side of Joey, removing his skis as well and making himself comfortable. He decided to strike up a conversation as they sat there and waited for Sam to do his thing.  
  
"Hey, you guys wouldn't _believe_ what Sam and I saw getting on the lift!" he said with a bout of laughter behind his words.  
  
Joey cocked her head to the side and looked genuinely curious.  
  
"What'd you see?" Sirius questioned.  
  
"Well it was the oddest thing!" Josh said. "Some idiot had gotten his ski pole caught in the chair-lift supports!!! And his glove was still attached to it too!"  
  
Josh and Sam started busting up again from the memory. They had both gotten a good laugh out of the situation when they had gone to sit down on the lift earlier. However, when they had told Joey about the situation, her face had just turned a weird shade of red as she looked sheepishly over at Sirius. They didn't seem to think the situation was funny to them at _all_.  
  
Josh frowned slightly. Sam noticed it too, but he just shrugged.  
  
"Well, I guess you had to be there," he said casually and went back to healing Sirius' wrist.  
  
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Hey guys! Guess what! My story's more than a year old now! lol! ._..celebrates..._ So happy belated birthday to LoY. Haha. Oh! And I'm totally planning on changing my penname. I guess I'm just a bit worn out of Sportzjunkie. But do you guys have any suggestions? I'd love to hear them!!! I'm thinking about keeping the junkie, though, but just changing the prefix. I dunno, don't want anything too drastically different. I'm still a sports freak and all . . . I'm just dying for a change. lol. Anywho, I love you all and I look forward to hearing from you! ..._hint review hint..._ :)  
  
Much luv to you all!  
  
-Sara 


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